
Class 

Book 

Copyright N° 

COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



Self-Mastery of Men 
and Nations 



BY 

ALBION ELI SMITH 

"Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." — Paul. 




Printed for the Author 
By The Methodist Book Concern, Cincinnati, Ohio 






COPYRIGHT, 19 14, 
BY ALBION ELI SMITH 



"3d! 



FEB -8 1915 

©CI.A391657 



It lies within the power and province of humanity to 
build a highway over which the childhood of the whole 
world can safely travel and reach a noble manhood and 
womanhood. The aim of this book is to point out the 
abundant means and material which have been provided 
for constructing such a highway. 

We undertake to live and make ourselves content with 
that degree of comfort which is possible for all the world 
to have who will work as hard as we do, waste no more 
than we do, and be as easily satisfied as we are with what 
is reasonable and possible for the multitude to have. 

This book is dedicated to the .busy people the world 
around who are doing life's necessary work, and who 
have helped to make our travels possible and comfort- 
able; with the hope and belief that it will assist in opening 
the doors of opportunity to all children, and will aid in 
placing within their reach the great essentials for a noble 
manhood and womanhood. 



CONTENTS 



PREFACE, 9 

APPEAL TO BUSY MEN, 11 

INTRODUCTION, 13 

The Purpose of this Book. — Economy of Self- Mastery. — 
Principles by which My Privileges Have Been Secured. 
— The Key to the Situation. 

CHAPTER I. 

THE ESSENTIALS OF THE SELF-MASTERY SYSTEM, 21 
Intelligence. — Capability. — Honesty. — Freedom. — 
Personal Liberty. — Free Belief. 

AGENCIES OF THE SELF-MASTERY SYSTEM, .... 26 
Religion. — Education. — Business. — Science. — A Gen- 
eral Self-Mastery Council. — Saving a Degenerate. — 
General Principles. — Equality. — Evolution. — Aim of 
the Self-Mastery System. 

TESTS OF THE SELF-MASTERY SYSTEM, 41 

General Test. — Justice Test. — Quadruple Test. — Com- 
panion Test. — Triple Test of Science. Religion, and 
Business. — Tendency Test. 

TWO SYSTEMS OF MASTERY, 43 

Comparative Cost of Mastery-of-Self and Mastery-of- 
Others. 

CHAPTER II. 

SELF-MASTERY OF MEN, 47 

What Self-Mastery Means to Me. — Care of the Body. — 
Respect for Others' Rights. — The Mastery of Money. — 
My Introduction to Mr. Money. 

5 



CONTENTS 

CHAPTER III. 
THE INDIVIDUAL AND SELF-MASTERY, 61 

Serving One's Self. — Notes in Algiers. — The Human Fam- 
ily as an Individual. — The Mob Spirit. — Independence 
of the Individual. — Individuality of the Child. — A 
Better Public Sentiment Needed. 

CHAPTER IV. 
GOD AND MAN IN THE SELF-MASTERY SYSTEM, - - 74 

What God Could Do. — Worshiping God According to 
One's Conscience. — Confession to God. — Adam's Sin. — 
Does God Call Special Men to Do Special Work? — Are 
Trials Sent from God? — Reflections in Brussels. — Man 
in Partnership. — God's Methods Reasonable. — A Vision 
of the Future. 

CHAPTER V. 

THE GREAT COMPANION AND SELF-MASTERY, - - - 90 

The Miracles of Christ. — A Journey to Emmaus. — Com- 
panionship and Co-operation. — Requirements of This 
Great Companionship. — Conversion. — Sacrifice. — Bap- 
tism. — The Lord's Supper. — Promise of Christ to Re- 
deem the World. — Non-Resistance. 

CHAPTER VI. 
PRAYER AND SELF-MASTERY, 107 

Some Needs and Conditions of Prayer. — Repentance Is 
Needed. — Diary at Rome. — Divine Healing. — We Do Not 
Outgrow Prayer. — Unanswered Prayer. — Diary in Lon- 
don. — Prayer and the Banker. 

CHAPTER VII. 

THE NATION AND SELF-MASTERY 125 

Rights of the Unborn. — Notes from Italy. — Duty of the 
Nation. — Art in Latin Countries. — The Roman Hier- 
archy and the Nation. — A World-Neighborhood. — 
World Resources. 

6 



CONTENTS 

CHAPTER VIII. 
THE HOME AND SELF-MASTERY, 140 

The Aim of the Home. — The Friends of the Home. — The 
Enemies of the Home. 

WOMAN AND SELF-MASTERY, 144 

Licentiousness. — Alcoholic Liquor. — Tobacco. — War. — 
Dance and Theater. 

CHAPTER IX. 

AMUSEMENTS AND SELF-MASTERY, 152 

Recreation in Work. — A Mistake in Athletics. — Should 
be Censored. — The Dance and the Home. — Private 
Dance. 

CHAPTER X. 
THE DEFENSE OF ALCOHOL, 167 

Chart Showing Its Place in Nature. 

CHAPTER XI. 

THE CHURCH AND SELF-MASTERY, 173 

What Is Wrong with the Church? — Remedies to Apply. — 
Church Organization.— Manhood Standard Needed. — 
The Church Must Lead the World. — Appeal to the 
Church. — Appeal for Leadership. 

CHAPTER XII. 
THE BIBLE AND SELF-MASTERY, 184 

The Bible in England and Spain. — What Is Wrong with 
the Bible? — How Shall We Approach the Bible? 

CHAPTER XIII. 

LABOR AND SELF-MASTERY, 190 

The Strike Is a War Method. — War Methods Can Not 
Force the Earth. — A Word to the Few and to the Mul- 
titude. — Appeal to Other Toilers. 

7 



CONTENTS 

CHAPTER XIV. 
THE NATION, CRIME, AND POVERTY, 196 

What Is Wrong in the Management of Crime? — How to 
Discourage Crime. — Divorce. — Poverty. — Pensions. 

CHAPTER XV. 

WAR AND SELF-MASTERY, 203 

Is War Inevitable? — Who Is to Blame? — Who Gains by 
War? — Remedies for War. — The Spirit of the Warrior. 

CHAPTER XVI. 
A WORLD- VISION AND SELF-MASTERY, 209 

A Narrow Vision. — Great Principles. — Faith and Belief 
in World- Vision. — Our Debt to Others. 

CHAPTER XVII. 

SELF-MASTERY JOURNEYS, 221 

Around the World. — Baraboo to Mexico. — Puebla to Pan- 
ama. — Cuba, Washington. — New York, Europe, and Af- 
rica to Munich. — Munich to Russia and Return. — Home, 
via London. 

CHAPTER XVIII. 
BIOGRAPHICAL AFTERWORD, 243 

Personal Sketch. — Preparation for this Work. — Family 
Life. — Reason for this Sketch. — Did God Take Our 
Children by a Direct Act? — A Closing Word of Appeal. 



8 



PREFACE 

Since the time of history, the talent, devotion, and per- 
severance expended in striving for better things has been 
enormous; yet, in spite of all this labor, sacrifice, and suf- 
fering endured in wars and persecutions in the name of 
God and humanity, how vast the catalogue of wrongs and 
misfortunes which beset humanity to-day! 

The slow progress of the forces of good against the 
powers of evil since the coming of Christ, nineteen hundred 
years ago, convinced me long since that some vital errors 
are lurking in the methods of carrying out the Redeemer's 
plans to save the world, and years ago I began a diligent 
search to detect those errors and discover the truth. The 
formulas under which I have studied the problems of life 
are the following questions: 

What is wrong with myself? 

What is wrong with my neighbor? 

What is wrong with the Churches and reformers? 

What is wrong with the world in general? 

The two inquiries which naturally follow these questions 
are: 

Who is to blame in each case? 
What is the remedy? 

After searching diligently for many years, I have found 
out what has been of inestimable value to me, and as the 
principles involved are of universal application, I assume 
that they can be equally valuable to others. 

The first draft of this book was written while I was 
traveling and constantly seeing the abuses which are keep- 
ing the people in weakness and ignorance in foreign coun- 

9 



PREFACE 

tries. My impressions were thus emphasized by the con- 
ditions about me, and this fact explains the stress laid on 
some practices which may be regarded as of minor impor- 
tance by those unfamiliar with other parts of the world. 
As I have given my time and effort to studying the people 
in as many countries and in as many conditions of life as 
possible, I have not yet been at liberty to make myself well 
acquainted with the literature bearing directly on the sub- 
jects treated in the following pages. Being written in 
part as a diary, it must discuss different subjects some- 
what as they occurred to me in travel, and not entirely 
after a topical arrangement. With the efficient help of 
my wife, as together we have gone over every line in re- 
view, I have labored hard to keep this volume of very 
moderate size, without sacrificing too much valuable ma- 
terial contained in the first writing. By this effort I be- 
lieve we have retained only what the public will find well 
worth reading 

The purpose of this book is to encourage and preserve 
the good and true wherever these are found, and it would 
gladly aid any persons or institutions to free themselves 
from the false and erroneous. It assumes that it is no privi- 
lege to a person in any position whatsoever to be allowed 
through the force of circumstances to continue to wrong 
himself and others. Surely no one has the right to teach 
a child false doctrine and errors in religion or anything else. 
If the practices and lives of any persons are condemned, 
it is solely that childhood may be protected from wrong. 
We want the truth, at whatever cost, whether in money, in 
effort, or in sacrificing the cherished traditions of the past. 

The author does not boast that this book is original. 
He has traveled far, studied long, and labored hard to make 
it a faithful interpretation of the Original. 



10 



AN APPEAL TO BUSY MEN 

" Divinely fashioned man, best work of God, 
Made in His image, life-breath of His soul: 
How canst thou love the soil beneath thy feet 
More than thy fellow- man?" 

"The earth is fair, 
And beautiful its fields of waving grain; 
Its iron v strong, its gold and diamonds rare. 
Its Maker called it 'good.' Why should not I?" 
"Yes, fairer than the morning is the earth; 
Yet lovlier far the children of thy home, 
That will be men and women ere the sun 
Has numbered many journeys in his course. 

"You delve among the jewels of the mine, 
You follow plow or reaper day by day; 
You spend long years amid the noise and din 
And whir of factory wheels, to gather wealth. 
Oh busy, anxious man! have you forgot 
Those little ones, part of your better self, 
To whom belongs your first and greatest care? 
Too oft they wander from your heart and home, 
And many go astray while you pursue 
Some fleeting, fading bauble in the mart. 

"You rush with feverish haste and anxious brow, 
To field or mine or market, lest perchance, 
Some other hand should grasp the envied prize. 
And why such haste? That you may soon return 
Laden with treasures for the ones you love? 
Alas! the tempter in your absence came 
And stole the heart, and wrecked the youthful life. 

"While you were busied with those lesser things, 
Did you forget that little hands and feet 
Need guidance, lest they go astray and break 
The heart that loved them, but bestowed its first 
And best attention on the things that fade? 
II 



APPEAL 

"Oh brother man, be just! To Caesar give 
All Caesar's due, but render God His own. 
For your best love He gave those little ones, 
That in their noble lives, led by your care, 
They might bring honor to His name and yours. 
What God loves most is worthiest of thy love. 
Be faithful to this trust and thou shalt know, 
When kindred earth receives again the form 
In which you served mankind and honored God, 
He then will greet thy spirit with 'Well done! 
Earth toils are past, life's victories are won.' " 
— Albion Eh Smith. 



12 



INTRODUCTION 

Could I have one supreme wish granted, it would be 
to make conditions such that every child born into this 
world would be intelligent, strong, trustworthy, and free. 
No such wish will ever be granted me, but there is a lesser 
privilege that is practical. A pathway that has been traveled 
by one ordinary person can become a highway for the mul- 
titude. I have traveled far and wide to get acquainted 
with my fellow beings in foreign lands. I went to see 
them and live among them for a brief time, feeling that 
they were all my neighbors, and now this neighborly feeling 
is the uppermost sentiment in my mind as I meet the people 
of any land, either here or elsewhere. 

In my travels and studies of the later years I have been 
seeking the shortest path to a useful, happy life that may 
be followed by the children of every country. What some 
genius here and there might do has no bearing on my prob- 
lems and does not deflect the needle of my compass. Those 
who have plenty of money or a special gift in some di- 
rection may by these means secure special favors, but the 
great crowd of humanity can not follow them. My claim 
is not that I have done an unusual thing, and others can 
not equal it; but that I have done an unusual thing, and 
everybody can do as well or go far enough to secure great 
benefits. There are forces and means within reach of 
humanity which make it practical and feasible to give to 
every child a good degree of all the privileges I have en- 
joyed. Not that all should do the same as I have done — 
people will never become like quails, each one looking and 
acting just like the rest — but all can become strong, capable, 
and honest, all can become good citizens. I have used 

13 



INTRODUCTION 

my travels to illustrate a great principle, not to serve as 
a mold into which every person must be crowded. My 
experience would give every one the freedom to do what 
he would like to do, and then he can make whatever use 
he prefers of the money or other powers thus placed within 
his hands. He may travel, go to college, buy a farm, or 
simply lay aside his accumulations and decide later what 
use he will make of them. 

I have gathered ideas and practices from different parts 
of the earth, and tested their value for the average person. 
My aim has been to know whether human nature is so 
much alike the world over that a composite life might be 
constructed by choosing the best knowledge from many 
peoples, incorporating this into one life and holding that 
one up as a general model for all mankind. I have no hesi- 
tation in stating positively that this can be done. So many 
millions are living the simple life, with no thought of suffer- 
ing or sacrifice, that that principle is established. These 
are strong and vigorous, and if they are behind other 
people in any respect, it is not due to their simple mode 
of life; other causes are to blame for any defects in their 
fiber or character. So many persons in the varied ranks 
of life have denied themselves for others and worked on 
faithfully with little concern for their own comfort that 
the fact of such a possibility is thoroughly proved. 

The thinking world will surely agree with me when I 
say there have been numerous cases of heroic fidelity scat- 
tered all along man's pathway, from the earliest times to 
the present ; the fault is, there have been too few of them. 
The point of importance is, can their kind become the rule 
instead of the exception? Can conditions so change that 
the multitude will be going the right way, and only a few 
stragglers going the wrong way ? I say most emphatically, 
they can. When one steamboat had crossed the ocean it 
proved the possibility of such a voyage. Now the waters 
of the Atlantic hardly become quiet from the churning of 

14 



INTRODUCTION 

one propeller before another follows in its wake. I be- 
lieve all good things should become common, especially 
good men and women ; and one great object of this writing 
is to offer my experiences and my studies in proof of this 
statement. 

The purpose of this book is in no sense to give a de- 
tailed account of my travels. Far more skillful pens have 
described the different countries and peoples of the world. 
My aim is to show the triumphs of certain principles over 
what have been considered great difficulties, and to prove 
how easy and universal these triumphs may become. Travel 
on the earth used to be very slow and difficult; now it has 
become rapid and comfortable. The journey of life on 
the way to satisfactory happiness and contentment has been 
and still is uncertain and perplexing. A few find the way ; 
many travel only a short distance, and half give up ; while 
still more fail utterly to reach the goal. The success of 
temporal things by right principles proves the possibility 
of the success of spiritual things by right principles. 

ECONOMY 0# SIXF-MAST^RY. 

A host of good people are paying a dollar for fifty cents' 
worth of comfort. The reader of this book will see that 
the author has learned to get a dollar's worth of comfort 
out of fifty cents. 

My wife and I have undertaken to live and make our- 
selves content with that degree of comfort which is possible 
for all the world to have who will work as hard as we 
do, waste no more than we do, and be as easily satisfied 
as we are with what is reasonable and possible for the 
multitude to have. 

We have needed food, lodging, clothing, and traveling 
expenses. The emphasis must be laid not on the travel, 
but on the principles of economy involved, and those who 
stay at home could consequently have more money for some 
other purpose. 

15 



INTRODUCTION 

I give here the figures for our several journeys, which 
are more fully described in Chapter XVII, to show what it 
is possible for one to do by following the self-mastery sys- 
tem. 

My first journey was a tour of the world covering a dis- 
tance of 30,000 miles and one year's time, at a cost of some- 
thing over $800. For convenience I speak of it as $70 
per month, which is above the actual cost. 

My second trip was from Puebla, Mexico, southward 
along the coast, and somewhat into the interior of Central 
America; then to Panama; thence across the Isthmus and 
up through the West Indies, visiting Jamaica and taking 
the greater length of Cuba. From Havana I went north- 
ward through Florida and the Atlantic States to Washing- 
ton. With side-trips, I traveled 5,000 miles in three months' 
time at a cost of $180, or $60 per month. 

My third trip was from Munich, Germany, via Vienna 
and Warsaw to St. Petersburgh ; thence returning via Koe- 
nigsburg, Posen, and Berlin to Munich. With side-trips, the 
distance covered was 2,900 miles in one month's time, at 
a cost of $50. 

I will give the journeys of myself and wife in three 
sections, as this method best illustrates the principles of 
economy involved. 

At the end of ten and a half months we reached Munich, 
Germany, having visited Ireland, France, Spain, Algiers, 
and Italy. My wife had traveled 8,670 miles, and I had 
traveled 9,500 miles, at a combined cost of $500. 

At the end of one year I had added my Russian trip, 
which made the figures 8,670 miles for my wife, who re- 
mained in Munich, and 12,400 miles for myself. The whole 
year's expenses for two persons was $586. 

Then going northward through Germany, Holland, 
Belgium, and England, at the end of fourteen months, when 
we had reached Wisconsin, my wife had traveled 15,400 
miles and I 19,000 miles, at a cost of $800 for both. For 

16 



INTRODUCTION 

convenience we call it $60 per month, which more than 
covers all expenses, including some clothing for each of us. 

These journeys were of such an extent, and were taken 
under such a variety of circumstances, as to make them of 
real value in testing the system. We did not feel pinched : 
we provided our own good, wholesome food and led a free 
life generally. I should not like to mislead any one into 
thinking that this was a simple matter. It required a knowl- 
edge of the languages of the country, experience in travel, 
and a good degree of mastery over one's tastes and desires, 
or one would not be entirely satisfied as he goes along. 
People do remarkable things and endure hardships of all 
kinds on a wager. Our experiments have little in common 
with that, except in being controlled by a great purpose. 
Our great purpose had much to do with our being content 
and enjoying life as we lived it from day to day. 

It will be of interest to note the cost to us of a list of 
things which to many people figure up quite a sum. In 
fourteen months' time our combined expenses did not ex- 
ceed one dollar for the following items: Drives, dances, 
theaters, operas, shows, wine, beer, or any liquor, tobacco, 
tea, coffee, ice-cream, and soda-water. We boiled the water 
if it was not safe to drink without boiling, and we required 
no medicine. If it be urged that at our age we did not 
need certain of these things, I reply that this depends not 
on the age, but on the training. You have heard the adage, 
"There is no fool like an old fool." It depends on where 
the mastery in any person is centered, whether in his spirit 
and his best judgment or in his animal nature, making him 
a slave to a dozen different appetites and habits ; and also 
whether he finds a great sufficiency in the companionship 
of his near friends, and in other people generally. I find 
a great deal of satisfaction in the companionship of my 
Maker, my better self, my wife, and also in the company 
of whatever fellow-beings I live among at any time or 
place. In all my journey ings I was not conscious of deny- 

17 



INTRODUCTION 

ing myself, but rather of having an unusual freedom and 
of choosing the best course. 

For some place to go we attended public meetings and 
religious and other gatherings in connection with Churches 
and missions. Here we met many congenial people and 
made numerous friendships. Some would say these are 
rather dry places. That depends on one's power of ap- 
preciation of values. Some persons I have met spend time 
and money in places that are entirely too wet for one of 
my tastes and training ; much depends on the ideal of com- 
panionship which rules. To be explicit, I went where I 
thought my Great Companion would go, and kept away 
from the places I thought He would avoid, and found it 
to my advantage financially and socially, and to my entire 
personal satisfaction in every way. This, to me, does not 
mean an ascetic or monkish life, but simply taking the 
course dictated by the best wisdom and by sound common 
sense. 

It is now my purpose to give the principles by which 
so much can be accomplished with so little money. In these 
times of universal complaint of high prices and consequent 
privation and discontent, it is important to know one's pos- 
sibilities and limitations, and also to realize the privileges 
lying within reach of the multitude. The few who have 
plenty of money may think this does not concern them, 
but in view of the present popular unrest it is well worth 
their time to seriously ponder these problems and help teach 
the disaffected people to use common sense rather than 
dynamite in getting their rights. 

THE PRINCIPLES BY WHICH MY PRIVILEGES HAVE BEEN 

SECURED. 

I must have the intelligence to know what to do in dif- 
ferent circumstances and conditions. 

I must wait on myself, and not be dependent on others 
for little things; I must be capable of doing whatever is 
necessary. xg 



INTRODUCTION 

I must have the courage to live within my means — small 
means, some would call them. I must not be ashamed of 
the virtues of economy. I must see that it is a mark of the 
savage, and not of distinction, to spend money in personal 
extravagance, as though it had no value. 

I must be content with what the millions of busy people 
the world over have, and find sufficient in the matter of 
personal comforts. 

I must teach myself to be satisfied with a small amount 
of any luxury, such as expensive food, clothing, or con- 
veniences. The type of the soldier's life is in my mind 
and has for me turned many dollars into wiser channels and 
given me the mastery of circumstances. 

I must be in a good degree a self-master, able to police 
myself, to support myself, and to pension myself. 

THE KEY TO THE SITUATION. 

I must believe there has been a complete self-master 
who, with all possible paths open to him, chose the best 
one for him and every person to follow from the standpoint 
of common sense, business, health, and happiness. In other 
words, he did the things he did and in that particular man- 
ner because it was the right way and the best way to do 
them. This was the Infinite Man, Christ Jesus, who lived 
an actual man among men, and by His example and words 
taught the great principles of life. Because He, the Infinite 
Man, was entirely successful in His sphere, I, a finite man, 
can be successful in mine by the aid of His example and 
the help of His infinite spirit in directing my finite spirit. 
In doing this I must have a definite knowledge of Him, 
I must have His companionship, I must co-operate with 
Him, and I must have His help to get the mastery of my 
desires. 

Jesus of Nazareth lived among the common people, 
shared their simple fare and accommodations, and engaged 
in the same labors in which they were employed. All this 

*9 






INTRODUCTION 

time He was in touch and close sympathy with them, yet 
independent of their sins and follies. He did this by the 
principles of self-mastery and the power of a great purpose 
which every human being can have. His companionship 
and His inspiration make me more than content to share 
the average personal comforts of my fellow-men, and if 
anything is not good enough for me, to use my strength 
and money to make it better for all, rather than to simply 
lift myself above discomfort and let the masses go to ruin. 
His companionship makes me comfortable in body and tri- 
umphant in mind while sharing the plain fare of my brother 
who speaks a different language, has a different-colored 
skin, and whose less cultured manners would otherwise be 
intolerable to me. Jesus was not satisfied with those people 
as they were, but He lived in the future of what all are 
to be when His life and teaching become the universal 
standard. 



Self-Mastery of Men and Nations 



CHAPTER I 

THE ESSENTIALS OF THE SELF-MASTERY 
SYSTEM 

Self-mastery is the system of life and government 
which is based on absolute truth and reality, and these are 
made known by the co-operative action of true Religion, 
true Education, true Business, and true Science. This 
system means the complete control and development of one's 
self and the resources of the earth, and requires every one 
to do his part and to take no more than his share. The 
self-master must be able to police himself, to support him- 
self, and to pension himself. 

The great essentials of self-mastery are intelligence, 
capability, honesty, and freedom. 

Intelligence means that one must have the knowledge 
necessary for his use and for any service he may have to 
perform. 

Capability means that one can do whatever is required 
of him, that he has the usual senses and the strength and 
skill to employ them in actual work. 

Honesty means that one can be trusted. He will not 
do less than his part of the work or service, and he will 
not take more than his share of the desirable things, whether 
it be money, honor, power, or anything of value that men 
desire to possess. One may do more than his part and 
take less than his share. The world is advanced by the 
services of this class, and it is retarded by those who do 
less than their part and take more than their share. An 
honest person who lives to maturity must by some useful 

21 



SELF-MASTERY OF MEN AND NATIONS 

activity, which helps and does not harm humanity, earn 
and return to the world as much as he or she gets from 
the world's supplies and consumes in personal expenses 
during life ; otherwise that person is sponging on the labors 
of others, and living as a parasite. Being born rich or 
poor, prince or peasant has nothing to do with one's obli- 
gation to support himself and not sponge on others. 

HONKSTY ILLUSTRATED. 

Here are two bins of wheat : one contains sixty measures, 
and is to be carried by twelve men to a certain storehouse ; 
the other contains twelve measures, and is to pay for the 
work. Twelve rations are ready in the dining-room. The 
men must do all this one at a time, and each must go in 
alone, measure his own load and his own pay, and take his 
dinner alone. Will each of these men measure out his 
load fairly, and divide to himself no more than his share 
of the pay and the food? If these are all honest, the last 
man will have a little less to carry, and will get his full 
pay and dinner, because each of the others will be careful 
to require himself to do his full part of the work, and take 
no more than his share of the pay and the food. 

The great question for each human being to ask is this : 
"Could the world trust me to be the first to measure and 
divide to myself my load and my pay, and take my dinner ; 
would they dare to be the last one with eleven others like 
me ahead of them?" If I am a strictly honest man or 
woman, the world could safely take the twelfth chance in 
this supposed case which covers the whole range of life's 
service, labor, and reward. You could trust eleven persons 
like Jesus of Nazareth to precede you. All ranks and con- 
ditions of people can accept this definition of honesty, and 
nothing less than this will satisfy the needs of human beings 
who must all measure up to the divine image. 

The merchant is required by law and by honesty to give 
full weight and measure, and to pay in honest money. Then 

22, 



ESSENTIALS OF SELF-MASTERY SYSTEM 

any one who does any service in the street, the factory, or 
in any governmental or other office is bound by the prin- 
ciples of honesty to give a full day's measure of service, 
and neither cheat in time nor shirk on his job. An honest 
man must give a reasonable equivalent for whatever he 
receives from others, or else he would have to live by gifts 
and be placed in the beggar class, or he must live by dis- 
honesty and be classed as a criminal. If a man receives a 
fortune from his parents, uses it wisely, and then passes 
it on to others, he can be an honest man. If he consumes 
that fortune on himself, he has not given an equivalent 
for what he received ; he can not be called an honest man. 

Again, there is another side. The tradesman, the cab- 
man, and the carman are not allowed to overcharge. There 
is expected to be a standard price for their services or com- 
modities ; a greater charge is dishonest. Then, plainly, the 
exorbitant charges of some doctors and lawyers are dis- 
honest. Both these professions claim that they can charge 
rich men more than others. If so, then one of two things 
is implied: either that the rich man has gotten his wealth 
dishonestly and consequently should pay more, or that those 
who pay less are in the pauper class and must have a portion 
of their bills remitted in the name of charity. If the rich 
man is to pay more for doctors and lawyers, why not more 
for eggs, street-car fare, and everything else ? In that case 
there would have to be an indefinite list of different prices 
on all commodities, gauged by the wealth of the purchaser. 
That would simply carry the customs of those doctors and 
lawyers to a full consistency, and would be to adopt the 
ways of the Orient, where each gets all the purchaser can 
be made to pay. If the members of these professions can 
not live without such discrimination, let them help to do 
away with poverty and injustice, and then all can pay for 
needed services. 

Freedom, or liberty, means the permission to do right. 
It means the permission to do what every one may do with- 

23 



SELF-MASTERY OF MEN AND NATIONS 

out harm to any one. Freedom can not include the permis- 
sion to do wrong to another in any degree, because this 
would open the way for a combination against the offender, 
and he would be thus deprived of his liberty by the use 
of his liberty, which is contradictory to itself. Freedom to 
one can never mean the bondage of others. Any wrong- 
doing leads finally into bondage to that wrong. Teaching 
others to follow the principles of freedom promotes one's 
own freedom; teaching others to follow the principles of 
bondage leads one into bondage. 

Freedom belongs primarily to the realm of the spirit 
rather than the body. The body is the natural servant of 
the spirit. The body is animal, and as such must compete 
with other animals. Brute force is the power by which the 
animal rules, and two or more can vanquish one by its use. 
Sin and ignorance are the only enemies capable of master- 
ing the spirit. Several spirits can not combine and conquer 
one, except through the agency of sin and ignorance. I 
am inclined to believe sin is the only final enemy that can 
remain master, since whosoever committeth sin is the serv- 
ant of sin. Satan can not master even a child unless he 
first persuades him to sin. The child is, after that, in bond- 
age to his own sin until released from it by divine power. 
The only way God can set a man free is to forgive or 
release him from past sins, and get him to stop sinning. 
To be kept free, knowledge is necessary, or he will again 
blunder into all sorts of trouble. 

God is the only absolutely free being. He is made free 
by His complete knowledge and by His not committing 
any sin. Jesus, the Son of God, was absolutely free in 
spirit, but not in body. His body was subject to the animal 
law of brute force. Why could not His spirit protect His 
body? Because His spirit could not do what was wrong 
for every one else to do. That is to say, He could not kill 
others in self-defense, and protect Himself in that way. 
Christ must conquer by the principles of freedom and right- 

24 



ESSENTIALS OF SELF-MASTERY SYSTEM 

eousness. His mission was not to master others, and keep 
order by that means, but to keep order by teaching and 
equipping each one to master himself. Jesus, as the 
Founder of the true system, could not protect His body 
by force and keep His spirit from sin. Had He done so, 
He would by that act have entered the arena on the level 
of any other brute force, which would mean mastery by 
the strongest. 

Jesus said, "Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall 
make you free." In this He gave to men the key to eternal 
life and to universal happiness. So soon as man is ready 
to know and practice this truth, so soon will the whole race 
be free. Christ is free to do what He wishes to do because 
He wishes to do only what is right. Our only hope is in 
becoming like Him in righteousness, and that will include 
freedom. Then we shall be "made in the image of God." 
Then we shall be permitted to do as we choose, because, 
like Jesus, we prefer to do right, and God can trust us with 
all freedom. 

Personal Liberty. The fallacy of so-called personal 
liberty is this: It is the permission to do as one pleases 
without regard to others. One claims the privilege of get- 
ting drunk. He is then liable to commit any crime that 
drunkenness leads to. This same liberty must allow all his 
neighbors to get drunk also. Now, surely some of them 
will do him harm; if all keep sober, by the law of truth 
that makes one free, all will be free from any harm from 
drunkenness. 

Free Belief. There are those who claim the freedom to 
believe or to disbelieve any statement. Plainly, no one 
has the right to believe a falsehood or to doubt the truth. 
Either of these would rob a man of his freedom and make 
him a slave of error. If I claim the right to believe I can 
go north from Boston and reach the equator, I shall soon 
be in bondage to my error. If I believe I can keep strong 
and well on a diet of mixed bran and sawdust, I shall be- 

*5 



SELF-MASTERY OF MEN AND NATIONS 

come bound by the weakness that will follow. The same 
is true of any error of believing a falsehood or disbelieving 
the truth. When Jesus says, "The truth shall make you 
free," and a man doubts His word, and says he does not 
believe that, and proceeds to trample on the rights of others, 
he will soon find himself in trouble, and in bondage to his 
own doubts. To believe a lie or to doubt the truth are 
not in the direction of freedom, but of bondage. It is every 
man's imperative duty not only to seek to know the truth, 
but also to believe it. Freedom not only permits but re- 
quires every one to believe all that is true, whether it be 
the abstract statement of truth or whether it be the truth 
made real in the life of some worthy person. I am not at 
liberty to doubt the good or to believe in the false that is 
found in any person or system of doctrine. Whether I 
like that person or system, or whether I hate them, has 
nothing to do with the problem. The truth that I hate 
can make me free in its sphere, and the falsehood or error 
that I love can make me a slave in its sphere. Here again 
the necessity of knowledge comes in, and to know, one 
must not be bound by prejudice or by hatred of the truth, 
or he will not learn to know that truth. He must be free 
to learn and accept the truth, wherever it may be found. 

Agencies of the Self-mastery System. 

The agencies by which man is to develop and perfect 
the whole race can be classed under four heads : Education, 
Religion, Business, and Science. The order of arrangement 
is not important, as all must work together for the race, 
and every person must employ them all in his individual life. 
In the first place, there is imperative need of having stand- 
ard definitions of these departments, stating clearly what 
is true and false education, true and false religion, and the 
same of business and science. We have standard money- 
values, and standard weights and measures, and by means 
of these the whole civilized world transacts business readily, 

26 



ESSENTIALS OF SELF-MASTERY SYSTEM 

and commerce advances. The same can be done in religion 
and education so soon as these two become standard- 
ized and placed on a common-sense basis, as has already 
been done in business matters. We are told that educated 
criminals are worse than ignorant ones, which is evident. 
It is also true that an ignorant man, though good, is in- 
capable of doing much for the world. He makes a safe 
door-keeper; but there is pressing need of good men in 
all high places of power. 

Each of these four agencies must work under the guid- 
ance and restraint of the other three. Science can discover 
dynamite, and education can teach an unprincipled man 
how to wreck his neighbor's building and destroy much 
property and many lives. Business can furnish plenty of 
men and material to put up another building. Religion 
comes to teach us that every man must respect the rights 
of his fellow-man. Laborers and capitalists might carry 
on war to the death of both, and desolate the earth, with- 
out the help of religion to teach them to do right and be 
honest with each other. 

RELIGION. 

Religion comes from a Latin word, religare, to bind 
or bind back, because it binds man to his Creator and his 
fellow-men. Religion can be defined as that department 
of human activity which concerns a man's relation and 
duty to God, his relation and duty to his fellow-men, and 
his relation and duty to himself. In his relation to God, 
man is formed after his Maker's image, and is the crowning 
glory of His workmanship. His duty to God is to satisfy 
the design and purpose of his Maker by being a faithful 
co-worker in developing himself and the earth, and in 
shaping the childhood of the world after the divine image. 

Man's relation to his fellow-man is that of brother, 
partner, or neighbor. Man's duty to his fellow-man is to 

27 



SELF-MASTERY OF MEN AND NATIONS 

be a good brother, a good neighbor, or a good partner, as 
circumstances may require. 

Man's relation to himself is to be master of himself. 
His duty to himself is to make a strong, true man of 
himself. 

Much of the confusion and friction that exists among 
good men in religious matters is occasioned by a faulty 
definition of religion. True religion is as essential to man's 
spiritual nature as pure food is for his body. He can not 
perform the simplest act toward his fellow-men without 
touching the principles which bind him and his fellow-men 
together as related human beings. Religion is in part the 
continuance of common useful acts and the principles of 
every-day life carried to greater maturity and perfection 
in the higher development of the spiritual nature. The 
foundation principles of prayer, repentance, conversion, 
faith, sacrifice — in short, the whole religious vocabulary as 
found in the New Testament — are a part of every worthy 
life. Jesus was the only perfectly religious man, because 
He is the only one who has entirely fulfilled the require- 
ments of His relation and duty to God, to His fellow-men, 
and to Himself. The person who has a false religion oc- 
cupies a false relation to God, to his fellow-men, and to him- 
self. Mohammed was false to God and he was false to his 
fellow-men; he slew men and degraded women. He was 
a slave to his own animal nature, and instead of a man, he 
made a beast of himself. The true followers of Moham- 
med imitate the life of Mohammed, and the true followers 
of Christ imitate the life of Christ. 

EDUCATION. 

The root-idea of education means to lead one out from a 
state of ignorance into that of knowledge. It is all the most 
learned and complete man knows at the summit of his de- 
velopment, above what he knew at birth. One's education 
may fit him for the greatest usefulness, or it may make 

28 



ESSENTIALS OF SELF-MASTERY SYSTEM 

him a skillful counterfeiter and a deceiver. At the first the 
child is taught most of what he learns directly by older per- 
sons. Later he is able to direct his own education and 
choose his helpers, whether persons, books, or objects. All 
that he knows, whether it be helpful or harmful to society, 
he has learned from some source, and constitutes his edu- 
cation. The important period for education is childhood 
and youth. This touches in a vital way one-third of the 
population at any given time, and all the people at some 
time. Whether the education given be helpful or whether 
it be harmful is of the most momentous importance. 

True education is that which teaches one what will be 
a benefit to himself and others. False education is that 
which teaches one what will be an injury to himself or 
others. To teach a child to lie, to steal, to swear, to drink 
liquor or use tobacco, is to give him a false education. All 
those who by their habits or practices influence children 
to do these things are bad leaders, and are teaching false 
or pernicious education to childhood. The nation can not 
afford to allow one class of its citizens to profit by the ruin 
of another class, and especially the young and immature 
portion. This must condemn the whole liquor and tobacco 
business, as they can not be made profitable except by teach- 
ing the young to use these products to their hurt. 

business. 

Business is that department of human activity which is 
occupied with the products and resources of the earth. It 
procures these in their native or crude state, prepares them 
for use, transports them to the place where they are needed, 
and sells them to the consumer. It concerns the buying, 
selling, or exchanging of any commodity or service. The 
great aim of true business is to produce a good, substantial 
article at a reasonable price, and distribute the proceeds 
fairly among all the producers. 

The high aim of labor, or service, should be to do a 

29 



SELF-MASTERY OF MEN AND NATIONS 

good, honest day's work for a reasonable price, and this 
aim applies to the ministers, the lawyers, and the doctors 
as well as to other kinds of labor, or service. The same 
principle ought to apply to the highest official at the top, 
and from that down to the boy beginning at the bottom of 
the scale. 

True or honest business is one that works for the benefit 
of all concerned, whether producers or consumers. It aims 
to share or divide fairly the profits and also the losses due 
to natural and reasonable causes. False or dishonest busi- 
ness is one which by its nature works to the injury or loss 
of any persons concerned with it, whether producers or con- 
sumers. Liquor and tobacco are examples of false or dis- 
honest business, as the consumer does not get value re- 
ceived for his money, and he is greatly injured by them. 

SCIENCE. 

Science is that department of human activity which seeks 
to know the absolute truth and the actual facts about every- 
thing and every principle. It seeks to know the relation 
of any one thing to all other things. Science asks the ques- 
tion : What is this ? What is its use ? Is it what it is sup- 
posed to be? Science can have no bias or prejudice; it 
must place the correct label on everything. False science is 
that which fails to discover the truth or to detect an error 
in any particular case or proposition. 

The co-operation of the leaders and other persons en- 
gaged in these four lines of activity, namely : religion, edu- 
cation, business, and science — with each other and with the 
Creator is necessary for the highest well-being of humanity. 
In the past the failure of the leaders in these several de- 
partments to fully co-operate with each other and with the 
Creator has been the cause of most of the misfortune and 
misery that has come to humanity. 



30 



ESSENTIALS OF SELF-MASTERY SYSTEM 

A GENERAL SEXF-MAST£RY COUNCIL. 

True education, true religion, true business, and true 
science work together for the good of man like the four 
fingers of a man's hand, like the four legs of a table, or 
like the four wheels of a wagon. If one of the four is 
defective, there is weakness, instability, or slow progress. 
In order to show the intimate relation which exists among 
these four great activities of life, I have called them to- 
gether in council to consider three concrete cases. In these 
few words it is possible to give only a suggestion of the 
scope of each division. It is hoped that throughout the 
whole world the leaders and others engaged in these four 
departments will soon see the close relationship which exists 
among them, and that they will co-ordinate their forces and 
co-operate in all their labors for the common good of man- 
kind. 

We have here three cases : an idiot, an incurably insane 
man, and a degenerate. We will consider the first two to- 
gether, and then take up the other case by itself. 

"Education, can you do anything for these men?'' 

"No; neither of them can learn anything?" 

"Science, can your department offer any cure for these 
men?" 

"No ; every known remedy and expedient has been tried, 
and both cases are hopeless." 

"Business, what can you do for them?" 

"I can build asylums and hire attendants to care for 
them, but it will not pay; they will simply suffer a few 
years longer, and there is no profit possible, but only loss." 

Business, Education, and Science decide that it is bet- 
ter to give them an easy death at once, and if that were all 
there is in life, we would have to agree with this verdict. 
At this point Religion arises and says: "The command of 
our Creator and the law of right and justice forbid us to 
kill our fellow-man because he is unfortunate." Then turn- 

31 



SELF-MASTERY OF MEN AND NATIONS 

ing to the others, Religion continues: "Science, you must 
find out what made this person an idiot, and what made 
that man insane, and discover means to prevent any more 
of our brothers and neighbors from such misfortunes. 
Business, you must furnish the means of caring for these, 
and also for making the investigation of the causes, and for 
preventing their continuance. Education, you stand near 
by and watch what Science does, and as soon as any fact 
is ascertained, you go and tell the whole world, and teach 
the people better ways. We are all disgraced by any human 
failure, and we must prevent its repetition. Business, you 
will need to furnish Education with the means necessary 
for this undertaking. The initial cost will be great, but it 
will pay in the end, as it will cut off those large expenses of 
caring for defectives. Now, I think, these cases are pro- 
vided for." 

Science now arises and requests permission to speak. 

"Though I am perhaps the youngest member of this 
council, I must announce the fact that laws are written in 
the very nature of all created things, and I have no choice 
but to read these laws as I find the Creator has recorded 
them in the various branches of His works. I wish to ask 
each of you whether you will carry out whatever require- 
ments my discoveries shall reveal as belonging to your sev- 
eral departments ?" 

Business replies : "That will have to depend on the cost. 
You might recommend fine fur and silk clothing for all 
the world, and I could not afiford such luxuries, even if 
I should cut off all war and liquor bills." 

Education replies: "I can not teach an old dog new 
tricks. If you require old people to change their ways and 
methods, it is beyond my power or sphere to carry out 
your recommendations." 

Religion makes this reply: "Science, you will remem- 
ber your youth, and that when you first stepped into the 
council you showed me very scant respect. Perhaps my 

32 



ESSENTIALS OF SELF-MASTERY SYSTEM 

representatives were too severe with you, but you must re- 
call how you served your bread in the dough so many times 
that you spoiled our digestion, and we denounced you." 

Science now acknowledged that he was impetuous and 
perhaps premature in some of his conclusions, but that he 
had kept his seat so long, he was impatient to get a hearing. 
At this point Business arose and stated that he had recently 
been working in co-operation with Science, and had found 
the partnership very advantageous in many ways ; that 
Science had shown him how he could talk with his neighbor 
miles away over a wire, instead of going himself or send- 
ing a man with a message. 

Seeing there were many delicate questions to settle, 
Business moved that the council retire into secret session 
and prepare a report for the public. This was done, and 
the result is the combined wisdom of the four departments 
of human activity. As Education is perhaps the oldest 
member of the council, and is respected by all, he was asked 
to make the report, and he gave the following: 

"We have found that we must all work in harmony 
and co-operation if much is to be accomplished. After care- 
ful deliberation we have decided on the following acknowl- 
edgments and recommendations in respect to the several 
departments. Beginning with my own, I must report that 
there are many bad teachers who are demoralizing the 
world, yet whom I have been unable to dismiss. Some are 
teaching the boys to fight in war, and settle disputes by 
bloodshed and destruction of property. Some are teaching 
the children to drink liquor, use tobacco and other drugs, 
and also to follow other harmful habits, such as idleness and 
extravagance. Some are teaching them to get money, po- 
litical offices, and other benefits dishonorably. I must ask 
the combined help of the other three departments in getting 
rid of these teachers of bad practices. 

"Business allows me to report that his department has 
been too much absorbed in making money and in commer- 

1 33 



SELF-MASTERY OF MEN AND NATIONS 

cial progress, and has neglected the more vital interests of 
the very persons engaged in these enterprises. He requests 
the full co-operation of the other three departments in a 
better adjustment of business to the needs of men. 

"We have decided that Science is to make a thorough 
investigation of any and all the ills of humanity, and that 
each department shall furnish any data within its knowledge 
that will aid Science in this work. Science must make sure 
of the facts and the truth before expecting his measures 
to be carried out on a large scale. When any fact is estab- 
lished, there shall be held a meeting of the council, and 
the four departments shall allot to each the part that falls 
to it in making any changes or improvements. Their united 
wisdom will decide on any measure, and their co-operative 
efforts will put the same into execution. Science promises 
to make an effort to allow none of his bread to be set on 
the table in the dough, but admits he has now and then 
in his employ a young enthusiast who is so anxious to an- 
nounce some new discovery that he will rush into the dining- 
room and serve his bread on the table before it is ready even 
for the oven. Science also requests the full co-operation of 
the other departments in persuading the teachers of science 
to apply their wisdom and knowledge more thoroughly to 
eliminating from their own habits the use of liquor and 
those drugs which the department has condemned as being 
injurious to the young. 

"Religion sees his mistake in not calling in the help of 
Science, Business, and Education to a much greater extent 
than he has done, in his work of leading men to do right 
in dealing with each other. The verdict of the other three 
departments is that Religion must cut loose from the dead 
weight of the past as found in faulty tradition, and move 
along with the times. Religion will need to kindly but 
firmly retire the high officials in positions of responsibility 
when they have passed their years of vigor and safe leader- 
ship. Only such persons as are young enough and vigorous 

34 



ESSENTIALS OF SELF-MASTERY SYSTEM 

enough to see mistakes and correct them are fit for high 
authority in religion or elsewhere. When one is too old 
to learn he is too old to rule others. Religion realizes the 
necessity of breaking with the false ideas of the past, and 
at the same time welcomes the day of greater harmony with 
the other departments/*' 

SAVING A DEGENERATE. 

We will now consider the case of the degenerate. Here 
is a man fifty years old. He is a bad man ; he does not 
earn his living ; he does not pay his debts ; he uses tobacco ; 
he gets drunk frequently, and when partly drunk, he may 
do almost anything. Now, can he be turned into a good 
neighbor and citizen? Can he be saved, or reformed, or 
whatever you choose to call it? "Education, what have 
you to say; can you do anything for him?'* 

"This man was born like thousands of others, but he 
had bad teachers to instruct him. His father and other 
neighbor men went fishing and hunting on Sundays, and 
he went with them and found bad company. They swore 
before him, and he learned to swear. They lied to him, 
and he tried to beat them at that. They gave him liquor, 
and he learned to drink. They smoked and chewed tobacco 
before him, and he thought that made a boy into a man, and 
began to use tobacco because the men used it. His mother 
did not use it, and they said a girl should not use tobacco ; 
so his sister kept her mouth and breath clean. As a boy 
he was taught what was bad, and was not taught what 
was good. Now he is at the age where he will not learn 
better ways. He thinks he can not change, and he does 
not w r ant to ; hence I can do nothing for him.'* 

"Business, you may speak. What can you do for him?" 

"He knows better than he does. He has been told re- 
peatedly that it does not pay to loaf about the saloons and 
spend his money there; but he does not heed. He has 
himself admitted that it is bad policy to get drunk and 

35 



SELF-MASTERY OF MEN AND NATIONS 

waste his money, instead of paying his debts; but he goes 
on in the same way. I have tried to convince him that it 
does not pay to live thus, and that there is a better way ; 
but he pays no attention, and I can do no more for him." 

"Science, can your department help this man?" 

"I have showed him that alcohol is a poison, and not a 
food. I have showed him that tobacco is bad, even for an 
animal; that both of these interfere with health and com- 
fort to himself and others ; that they weaken the system and 
make it subject to disease, and unfit the body for the various 
strains liable to come upon it. I have proved to him that 
good food and water are better for the body than liquor 
and tobacco ; but he does not heed. He is too old for much 
hope. A hardened steel bar can not be hammered and 
shaped into a useful tool ; that must be done when it is 
hot — when it is young in its existence. At a sufficient heat 
it can be worked and shaped into any form. When it is old 
and rusty, like this man, there is no way to change it ex- 
cept to renew its youth by heat, so that it can be converted 
into another shape. If some power can renew this man's 
youth and bring him back to childhood, he can be re- 
generated, he can be made into a new, useful man. Science 
knows no other way. It is beyond the power of Education, 
Business, and Science to redeem him. They have tried re- 
peatedly, and have saved so few that they find themselves 
utterly unable to cope with so great a problem. I refer his 
case to Religion." 

"Religion, you have heard the discussion of this case ; 
can you do anything for this man?" 

"Science has given you the clue to his salvation. He 
can be reformed, made into a new, useful man, a good 
husband and neighbor, on one condition. As the cold steel 
must be returned to its childhood, so to speak, to a plastic 
nature, before it can be converted into another shape, so 
this man must be brought back to the state of childhood; 
that is, he must allow his mind to become like that of a 

36 



ESSENTIALS OF SELF-MASTERY SYSTEM 

little child, that can be molded by good influences and teach- 
ings. His mind must be changed ; but no ordinary power 
can do that. His wife, his friends, and his neighbors have 
tried faithfully, and no change has taken place. I know 
of only one way. The Infinite Spirit that created this man's 
mind can even now renew and change this same mind if 
the man will come and allow it to be done. As the heat 
must enter the bar of steel to soften it, so must the Spirit 
of God enter the heart of this man to renew and convert it. 
He has said, Xook unto Me, and be ye saved, all the ends 
of the earth/ That must include this man. Again, He 
has said, 'Ye will not come to Me, that ye might have life/ 
showing that He has given man the freedom of choice — he 
can come and get help, or he can refuse to come. He also 
says, 'Except ye be converted and become as little children, 
ye shall not enter the Kingdom of heaven/ This man's 
course, then, is plain: he must come to the Infinite Spirit 
and be made over into a new man. This is called conver- 
sion, or a new birth, and it is as truly scientific as it is 
to heat a spear in the fire and convert it into a pruning-hook. 
When an old stove, burned and used up, is again cast into 
the furnace, melted, and run into the molds to form a new 
stove, it is a new birth also. Both are scientific, both are 
according to reason, and both give hope to lives that are 
looking for better things. When this man's mind is 
changed, Education, Science, and Business can all unite 
with Religion in furthering his progress toward good citi- 
zenship." 

Education, in summing up these cases, reports as fol- 
lows : 

"Business, Science, and Education are gratified to recog- 
nize the efficiency of Religion shown in converting a de- 
generate into a valued citizen. Each of these departments 
has come to see the imperative need of the help of Religion 
in forming and developing the minds and natures of all 
persons. Religion, being in close touch with the Creator 

37 



SELF-MASTERY OF MEN AND NATIONS 

and being concerned with the spiritual nature of man, can 
best change that nature and get him to adopt better ways. 
"It is our unanimous verdict that, while the reformation 
of mature persons is desirable, yet it is very difficult, and 
is attended by many discouragements. The world must be 
reformed chiefly through work done with the children, both 
before and after their birth, and continued until they are 
mature and fully developed. When one generation of such 
human beings has been secured, the task of keeping hu- 
manity in close harmony and co-operation with each other 
and with the Creator will be easy and natural. The new, 
regenerated nature will rule to the end of time." 

GSNERAI, PRINCIPLES. 

Inasmuch as civilized humanity requires great labor and 
service for its support, every human being should do his 
part to earn his own living, and should take no more than 
his share of desirable things. If one fails to do his full 
part, he compels some one else to do his work ; if he takes 
more than his share, he robs some one else. We must con- 
clude then, that no power in heaven or earth can excuse 
any able-bodied person from doing his part or give him 
permission to take more than his share. It is impossible 
for one to become a self-master and meet all the require- 
ments of a man without developing his powers and talents, 
and this he can do only by using them in the actual labors 
and contests of life. Jesus in His life as a model for us 
labored and earned His own living. He mastered Himself ; 
He made use of His powers and talents, and brought them 
to their full development. Surely no human being, prince 
or peasant, can claim greater exemptions and privileges 
than the Son of God required as His due while He was 
among men. 

SQUAUTY. 

Equality can not be worked as a principle in a system 
of growth and development ; a man may not be equal to 

38 



ESSENTIALS OF SELF-MASTERY SYSTEM 

himself two days in succession. He should aim to excel 
his own yesterday, and to conquer his own to-morrow. The 
principle that must rule in the dealings of man with his 
fellow-man is that of fairness and justice to all. Men have 
different gifts and degrees of talent ; some excel in business, 
some in invention, some in music and other specialties. The 
spirit of progress must allow each to advance as far as 
possible ; but in moving forward he must not trample on 
the rights of others. The requirements for reaching the 
highest excellence in this life are identical with those for 
reaching the highest excellence in the life which is to come 
— there are not two lives, but one. 

EVOLUTION. 

If evolution means that a lower order can, unaided, 
evolve itself into a higher order, then it is irrational, and 
can not be applied to human beings as a working hy- 
pothesis in this world. The true principle of the creation 
of this world is growth and development, by each order 
reaching down and lifting up the one beneath it. The 
plant lifts up the inorganic, and organizes it into itself. 
The animal lifts up the plant, and organizes it into itself. 
Man lifts up the plant and the animal, and organizes them 
into himself, and uses them for his service. God reaches 
down and helps man up to become a co-worker with Him, 
and to shape himself according to the divine image. 

The child, even after he is born, has no power to care 
for himself. He must be lifted up into the realm of ma- 
turity by older persons. Likewise the masses of the world 
must, through competent power and leadership, be lifted 
up into the realm of maturity sufficiently to make them 
masters of themselves. Only by this means can they pro- 
tect themselves from bad leaders and guide the training and 
development of their children. The masses can not longer 
be held in ignorance and weakness by the hand of selfish- 
ness and despotism. They have learned something of their 

39 



SELF-MASTERY OF MEN AND NATIONS 

wrongs and their power. We who believe in right and 
justice must elevate them into intelligent, honest citizens, 
or the unprincipled agitators, who seek preferment at the 
cost of others, will, under some pretense of patriotism, lead 
them into excesses and violence. It is not necessary to have 
certain disastrous labor-wars repeated, but it will be pos- 
sible if the masses are not protected from bad habits, bad 
morals, bad methods, and the influence of ignorant or un- 
principled leaders. 

AIM OF THE SELF-MASTERY SYSTEM. 

The aim of the self-mastery system is to produce a race 
so well born and trained that every individual will police 
himself, support himself, and pension himself. The center 
of power and responsibility is to be placed within rather 
than outside of himself. 

The introductory lesson in self-mastery is to teach the 
very young child to police himself by means of an outside 
authority that must be obeyed, and as rapidly as possible 
this authority is to be transferred to his own control. He 
must first learn to obey commands ; later he learns the rea- 
son for obedience, and comes to realize that law and order 
are absolute in this world. He must be early taught to 
guard his own mouth, his hands, and his feet, that these 
should neither trespass on his own interests, nor on the 
rights of others. He must keep himself from being the 
servile tool of others for their sport or profit ; he must learn 
not to allow himself to harm others, nor allow others to 
harm him. 

There are those who tell us we should not say "do n't" 
to a child, and also that, if we forbid him to do any certain 
thing, that command makes him want to do it still more. 
It is only the ill-trained child that rebels against authority 
as a first impulse. The law of right and duty between man 
and man is as imperative as the law of life and death. There 
is an absolute Do n't in the foundation principles of all 

40 



ESSENTIALS OF SELF-MASTERY SYSTEM 

nature. Experience and science find this word inscribed 
in fire, in water, in poison, in every disease-germ, and on 
the brink of every precipice. The child must have don't 
said to him a great many times ; in fact, until he has sense 
and understanding enough to take that duty into his own 
hands and say "do n't" to himself whenever he is tempted 
to wrong himself or others. At sixty years I consider 
Mr. Do n't one of my best servant- friends. He keeps me 
from trespassing on my own rights or the rights of others. 
I take him with me to the dining-room, to the playground, 
or any place of amusement, to church, and in all my travels, 
He protects me from the expensive merchant, the doctor, 
and the undertaker. Every one could greatly profit by 
employing Mr. Do n't as a chaperon, and no well-trained 
person could object to such companionship. Most of the 
excellent people of this world are such because very early 
in life they locked arms with Mr. Do on one side and 
Mr. Don't on the other, and thus supported they walked 
up to an eminence of merit. 

The final purpose of the whole self-mastery system is 
to make every person in a large degree self-governing, self- 
inspiring, self-directing, and complete. 

TESTS OF THE SELF-MASTERY SYSTEM. 

As scientists test various articles of food to ascertain 
their purity, or what valuable elements they may possess, 
so the purpose of these tests is to detect the presence or 
the absence of any helpful or harmful principle, and to dis- 
cover the true and the false wherever they may be found. 
As a means of examining any institution, custom, or prin- 
ciple, personify it, and treat it as an individual doing all 
that that particular idea or custom is responsible for. 

General Test. — What is wrong with the world? What 
is wrong with the individual? What is wrong with myself? 
Who is to blame? What is the remedy? 

41 



SELF-MASTERY OF MEN AND NATIONS 

Justice Test. — To be used in examining any measure, 
policy, or law. Is it just to every one, tending to make the 
people honest, free, and able to care for themselves ; or 
does it give an unfair advantage to a few powerful rulers 
or bosses, making the masses dependent and subject to them? 

Quadruple Test. — This applies to the fitness of a person 
for any position of trust or responsibility : 

i. Intelligent. Has he the required knowledge for the 
position ? 

2. Capable. Is he able to do what the position requires ? 

3. Honest. Will he do not less than his part of the 
work or service, nor take more than his share of the 
proceeds, whether money, honor, or privilege? 

4. Free. Is he at liberty to perform all the duties of 
the position, and not bound by prejudice, tradition, 
or party? 

Companion Test. — Is he a good companion? Is he a 
good neighbor? Is he a good partner? 

Companion and neighbor concern more directly the spir- 
itual and social side of man. Partner touches every busi- 
ness transaction between man and man. The two persons 
may be associated in the same business, or as buyer and 
seller, doctor and patient, lawyer and client, teacher and 
pupil ; or in any act of life in which two persons exchange 
or share some commodity or service. No man has any 
right to be a bad or unfair partner simply because his 
fellow-man is in his power. 

Triple Test of Science, Religion, and Business. 

This test is applied to things, methods, and principles. 

Science asks: What is it? Is it true? Is it genuine? 
Is it what it is represented to be? 

Religion asks: Is it right toward God? Is it right to- 
ward my fellow-man? Is it right toward myself? Does 
it keep the Golden Rule? 

42 



ESSENTIALS OF SELF-MASTERY SYSTEM 

Business asks : Will it pay ? Is it the best way ? Is 
there no better way? 

Tendency T "est. — Does it tend in the direction of the best 
people, toward God, and the greatest ultimate gain? 

Does it tend in the direction away from God, toward 
the worst people, and the greatest ultimate loss? 

the: two systems of mastery. 

We are led to see that two systems of life and govern- 
ment were offered to man in the beginning. 

God gave man the mastery of self, the true system which 
is inherent in His own being, and hence suited to man made 
in the divine image. It includes all that is good and profit- 
able in developing the human race. 

Satan gave man the false system, the mastery of others. 
For one person to make himself master of another person 
is in direct disobedience and defiance of the truth, and is 
contrary to the very nature of God and of man made in 
the image of God. 

God's system was : Master and develop yourself ; subdue 
the earth, and have dominion over all created things be- 
neath you. God has never sought to master men, but to 
make them strong and honest, in order that they might be 
trusted to govern themselves. 

Satan's system was : Master your fellow-men ; compel 
them to serve you, to subdue the earth, and to bring you 
its treasures. Satan seeks to master men and to weaken 
them through indulgence, in order that he may rule them. 

God's system meant the freedom of all mankind through 
the knowledge and practice of the truth, and through the 
right dealing of each man with his fellow-man. God offered 
His system to man in the beginning, and a few have been 
found all along the ages who have accepted and followed 
His plan. 

Satan's system meant the bondage of all, through wrong 
and unfair dealing between man and his fellow-man. Satan 

43 



SELF-MASTERY OF MEN AND NATIONS 

offered his system, and it was accepted by the few strong 
ones desirous of ruling others. They enforced it on the 
multitude, and the disasters of humanity have come through 
that bad method. Satan offered his system to Jesus, but 
it was rejected, because Jesus did not seek to rule the 
world, or the kingdoms of the world, but to teach and pre- 
pare the people and the kingdoms to rule themselves. 

COMPARATIVE COST OF THE MASTERY-OF-SELF AND THE 
MASTERY-OF-OTHERS. 

Who pays the cost? The mastery-of-self is very eco- 
nomical, and the cost is paid by each one for himself. God 
is its Author and the Great Self-master. Of His own, He 
gave the world with all its wealth; He gave man life and 
wonderful talents ; He gave prophets and teachers to guide 
man, and, greatest of all, He gave His Son to instruct and 
redeem mankind. Christ gave of His own all that Divinity 
prized most: love, service, and sacrifice. At last, by His 
resurrection, He gave man the proof of His power over 
death, and with it the evidence of man's immortality. From 
first to last in God's system of self-mastery, each gives 
what is his own; each pays the cost of all he seeks to get 
with his own; and thus each becomes free and independent 
of everything but the law of righteousness. 

Compare this now with the mastery-of-others system. 
Call its author Satan, or Evil, or what you will, it is 
antagonistic to God, and it is the embodiment of opposition 
and disobedience to Him. While the mastery-of-self is eco- 
nomical and pays its own cost, the mastery-of-others is 
frightfully expensive, and the cost is paid by others. The 
very few riot in luxuries that are bought by the blood and 
treasure of the vast multitude. The cost of war, crime, 
persecution, and oppression is the penalty paid for follow- 
ing the false system. 

In the realm of war, note the history of Napoleon. It 

44 



ESSENTIALS OF SELF-MASTERY SYSTEM 

would stagger the imagination to count the cost of placing 
that man on the throne of France, and of sending him to 
St. Helena. The homes destroyed, the cities burned, the 
provinces devastated, the myriads of lives sacrificed — the 
value of all these was the price paid by others in the attempt 
of one monster to rule his fellow-men by a false principle. 

Mohammed was another who sought to bring the whole 
world under his control and make others pay the cost. 
Measure the vices and degradation of Mohammedanism 
from its founder to the present time, and you will measure 
simply one item of the world's misery caused by following 
a false system. 

The popes of Rome for many centuries have been trying 
to buy for themselves the mastery of the political and re- 
ligious world. The cost has all been paid by others, and it 
has been ruinous in its magnitude. The religious wars, the 
Inquisition, the loss of freedom to the people, the sacrifice 
of the liberties of the priesthood and the monastic orders, 
all these are part of the price paid by one succession of men 
who used a pernicious system in an attempt to rule others. 

It would have been more Christ-like, and infinitely better, 
to have sent forth those men and women, equipped with 
the open Bible and with the freedom of the truth, to make 
the remotest child of the earth an intelligent master of him- 
self. If that line of popes had first mastered themselves 
after the pattern of the Great Teacher, and then had become 
leaders of men, instead of trying to make themselves mas- 
ters of men, they would have won eternal honors, and the 
world would have become a Garden of the Lord before this. 
Many of them were brave and heroic men, but they labored 
to establish a false system, hence its cost and failure. Jesus 
said: "If any man will come after Me, let him deny him- 
self — master himself — take up his cross, and follow Me." 
Again He said: "Ye shall know the truth and the truth 
shall make you free." 

45 



SELF-MASTERY OF MEN AND NATIONS 

By following the right system, we who know the truth 
can with reasonable effort and expenditure place it within 
reach of the whole world. There is not one trace of malice 
or of destructiveness in God's system of self-government ; 
its establishment carries with it only love and light, peace 
and good will among universal humanity. 



4 6 



CHAPTER II 
SELF-MASTERY OF MEN 

By self-mastery, I mean the control and management of 
myself in all matters pertaining to my own personal move- 
ments and desires. It includes the control and service of 
the various resources of the earth, understood in their fuller 
sense. I am composed of body and spirit. These two, so 
far as this world is concerned, are inseparably bound to- 
gether ; separated, both disappear. In the beginning, spirit 
and body are crude in the extreme. Both grow together in 
an apparent and somewhat serious rivalry and contest. Un- 
aided, a savage is the result. With proper guidance on the 
part of parents and older persons, the body and spirit of 
the child develop together, each keeping its own place. This 
means a life partnership of the closest and most harmonious 
friendship and co-operation of the two. The result is a 
wonderful product, a complete man or woman, made in the 
image of God. 

The master of a violin must be able to bring out all of 
its possibilities as a musical instrument. The master of 
himself must bring out of himself all his possibilities as 
a human being. As man is several years old, and well 
started in some direction before he even knows he is 
going anywhere, it is plain that some one else has a 
grave responsibility for his right starting. Even in a horse- 
race it is conceded that each should have a fair chance to 
start, and I claim as much for every child. Others must pro- 
vide for him parentage and birth, food, shelter, and clothing 
for his body, until he is able to care for himself. For his 
spirit or mind he must have a teacher, a model, and com- 
panionship to guide and afford him an example of conduct. 

47 



SELF-MASTERY OF MEN AND NATIONS 

Self-mastery means to master and develop one's self and 
the resources and products of the earth, and help others to 
do the same. I include the helping of others, because the 
person who only takes care of himself has not paid back the 
help he received before he could help himself, and because 
civilization binds people together in mutual helpfulness. 

WHAT SELF-MASTERY MEANS TO ME. 

I can best explain this term by giving my own experience. 
I claim perfection in no line, but a degree of success that 
brings a large return for the investment, and proves the cor- 
rectness of the system. I divide myself by a line just above 
my mouth ; all above that line must be master, and all below 
must be servant, and these two co-operate. I will not take 
any food or drink that forms a habit ; everything put into 
my mouth can find a substitute. I can go without bread, 
meat, potatoes, etc., taking the substitutes that people of 
different parts of the world use. We need variety of cereals, 
vegetables and fruits, but these do not form habits. These 
are foods, not stimulants; one can be substituted for the 
other in a little time. I used coffee for years, but finding 
myself with a headache without it, we parted company; 
coffee can not be my master. Of course I do not use liquor, 
tobacco, or any drugs. I like various games, but will not 
play those that fascinate me or others. I want games that 
tire or satisfy me when I have played long enough. Water 
satisfies one when he has had enough, wholesome games 
do the same. Alcoholic drinks lead to excess, so does 
gambling, hence the self-master lets them alone, if not for 
his own sake, for those more easily led than he. A self- 
master can not allow himself to be used as a stool-pigeon 
to lead others into traps. Self-mastery makes a man mas- 
ter of his own desires and wants. He will not be like the 
tortoise in the fable, that wanted to fly, and persuaded the 
eagle to carry him up in the air and let him drop. It must 
make one satisfied with what is possible at any given time 

4 8 



SELF-MASTERY OF MEN 

or place; more than this, it must make one satisfied with 
what is best. 

care: of th^ body. 

A man having to cross a continent on one horse, riding 
over plain and mountain, fording rivers, wading in mud, 
breaking through snowdrifts and enduring the extremes of 
heat and cold, must do two things. First, he must study the 
horse's nature and possibilities ; second, he must obey those 
laws of horse nature that preserve its powers. The horse is 
his servant and friend. He must become the master of that 
horse in the sense of making him very useful. So must 
man do with his own body, which is his friend and servant. 
My body must last through the journey of life. I do not 
ride a lame horse; he may fail me in a critical moment. I 
will not lend or hire my horse to a foolish or bad driver. 
After he has done a day's work, no one shall have him for a 
midnight frolic. So with my body, ten or eleven o'clock at 
night is late enough for any frolic. It is the fool's fun that 
comes after that. 

I am spirit and animal. I will not let my animal injure 
or destroy himself. I will not let him eat himself sick, drink 
himself drunk, or go capering on the brink of a precipice. 
My body is my donkey that carries me and all my posses- 
sions. Some call the donkey stupid, he has far more sense 
than the man who drinks booze or uses tobacco. Give him 
all the liberty of the world and he will not harm himself. 

I profit greatly by applying the principles of self-mastery 
every day; without them all would be changed. It would 
cost me more than I could spend in this work, and perhaps 
so much as to turn me aside from a great purpose. These 
principles give me great freedom ; they give me the wings of 
a bird to fly above the bogs, creeks and marshes. When God 
can trust me with more liberty, it may be placed within my 
reach. Let me quote directly from my notes of travel : 

"Florence, Italy, April 18, 1912. I am up at 5.20, eager 

49 



SELF-MASTERY OF MEN AND NATIONS 

to study Italian. I believe my zeal in studying French, 
Italian, and Spanish at sixty is partly due to the scientific 
physical fact of simple food and fresh air, no tobacco, spir- 
its, tea, coffee or other stimulants. I take no food or drink 
that clogs the system and clouds the spirit. This mode of 
life puts the work of the engine as the great aim of exist- 
ence, instead of the consumption of fuel, as the high liver 
seems to do. To prepare the fuel so the furnace would con- 
sume a great deal would be like employing a fancy cook to 
enable me to eat more after I had eaten enough. 

"Oh, how I enjoy my freedom ! My wife and I stood 
near the old monastery at the summit of Fiesole heights, en- 
joying the grand view of the valley of the Arno and Flor- 
ence. In extensive travel, I have seen but few to equal it. 
I said to my wife: 'I do not know any one, and in all the 
history I have read I do not recall any one so free as I 
am. For a few cents I can buy a sufficient meal, and sitting 
on a little terrace wall with my companion for life and 
travel, I can eat it while historic old Florence lies at my 
feet/ We had a very simple meal of bread and butter with 
fruit and some nuts, and later I took a drink at the public 
fountain from my hand. My great freedom at the present 
time lies in the fact of health, strength, and the wealth that 
come from being entirely satisfied with the plain things 
of life that are easily provided. We divide both the great 
and small benefits ; I should feel mean to take more than 
my share. It would mar the happiness of both if I should 
make myself vile with tobacco, and compel my wife to 
breathe the smoke and get nothing out of her share of the 
money thus spent. I believe God's plan is that all people 
should reach a period in life where they can nearly have 
their own way and do as they like. This is neither reason- 
able nor possible until one has learned self-mastery. One 
must be satisfied with plain food, clothing and shelter. One 
must prefer to wait on himself, and give others as little 
trouble as possible. He must find more pleasure in giving 

50 



SELF-MASTERY OF MEN 

to others and helping them, than in receiving from them. 
He must find more joy in being fair and honest with his life 
companion, than in any course of selfishness and indifference 
to the other's rights. To be too lazy or too incompetent 
to care for one's self, is no preparation for a life of full 
satisfaction and freedom. Servants who do everything in 
the right time and manner are not standing in the markets 
to be hired. If you want such a one, you must train him. 
To be a successful teacher, you must begin with yourself. 
By the time you have succeeded to your hearts' content 
with this first pupil, you will likely say, either "I have had 
such a time training one servant I do not care to take an- 
other," or you will say, "I have now a good trained servant, 
and we two will stay together for life." 

The self-master must be a true scientist. He must in- 
sist on the verity of things, and the genuineness of what he 
accepts — whitewash and veneer are all right in their place, 
but they must pass for what they are. He must be a good 
business man, he must not pay more for a thing than it is 
worth. He must be able to discern future values and re- 
member that all values can not be expressed by the $ sign. 
Character, integrity, and faithfulness, which can neither be 
boxed nor crated, have a commercial value that no good 
business man will overlook. 

RESPECT FOR OTHERS' RIGHTS. 

I must require myself to be respectful to another per- 
son's worship, whether he be Roman, Hebrew, or idolater. 
I would not be rude to one who ignorantly worshiped his 
hoe, or anything else; I would like, however, to teach him 
better. The one who seems to worship himself, tests my 
code of politeness the worst. 

A large faith in God and humanity and a love for both 
are necessary for self-mastery. Without these, my own de- 
sire and natural energy in caring for myself would over- 
reach my judgment and lead me to injure myself and dis- 

5i 



SELF-MASTERY OF MEN AND NATIONS 

honor myself. I have known cases of this kind. Some per- 
sons, feeling they are paying too much for their board, 
eat to their injury to get their money's worth. Some take 
trouble to waste a little, or at least they are careless and add 
to the expense, and thus keep prices up. Both are degrad- 
ing, for it is yielding to a low impulse to get even with one 
we think unjust. I knew a student who left his coat off in 
his room, and kept his fire too hot to be comfortable, to get 
the worth of his board money. I once boarded at a students' 
club, where economy expected each of us to take but one 
apple at dinner, as this fruit was expensive at that time. 
There was but one person, I believe, who offended in this 
matter. This one always came promptly, ate one apple 
quickly before dinner, another just after, and frequently took 
a third as he left the table, before most of us had finished. 
There was a degree of courtesy among those students that 
would allow that thing without audible protest, but his con- 
duct is the most vivid remembrance I have of that man, 
and I doubt not others of the club remember the same fact. 
This principle holds in business where men take more than 
their share of the profits. They rob others, and occasionally 
load themselves down with riches that reduce them to the 
level of a mere toiling machine. They lose the joy of wealth, 
in the loss of respect for humanity by their own crooked- 
ness. A man who knows himself to need" watching, is likely 
to overdo his watchfulness of others in protecting himself. 
A self-master must be able to speak to himself with au- 
thority and say, "Now you have eaten enough, let that 
tempting dish alone." Also there are times when he must 
say, "Now that is good food, you have to work, you must 
eat, you must believe it is good enough. Thousands of 
other persons are content with it, and you must be." I have 
proved this to be possible, both when I lacked appetite and 
when the fare was too plain. In my wide travels it has hap- 
pened that, by chance, I saw too much in the kitchen. I 

52 



SELF-MASTERY OF MEN 

do not care to enter into details here ; sometimes ignorance 
is not only pardonable but desirable. 

That man is fortunate who can compel obedience when 
he says to himself, "You have money enough, you have 
your share, let some one else have a chance." It is espe- 
cially sad to see an old man use unfair means to keep young 
men from starting in business, when he ought to encourage 
them. Those who have helped the young to start, instead of 
hindering them, tells us it pays in the end. I do not believe 
a strong, vigorous nature, such as can succeed in business, 
can compel himself to do the generous act without the aid 
given him by his belief in God and humanity. To get aid 
in this way is not a mark of weakness, but of strength — a 
mastery over a giant, himself. As well obtain aid thus to 
get over one's own inward difficulties, as to use the aid of a 
boat in crossing a stream. The boat is servant, not master. 
One's respect for his fellows serves him and honors him too. 
Self-love and self-interest are so prone to go too far and 
injure their owner that they need strong chains to hold 
them w T ithin bounds. It is like keeping a tiger for a watch- 
dog, there is danger of his injuring his master. Self-love 
and self-interest are very good watch-dogs, but better not 
have them too large and fierce. Napoleon I. made that 
blunder, and his self-love and self-interest landed him in 
St. Helena. A proper regard for the rights of his wife, for 
his country, and for the rest of Europe would likely have 
kept him on the throne of France. What untold atrocities 
and barbarities would thus have been spared to the world, 
and especially to Europe ! The disaster wrought by the self- 
ishness and conceit of that one man is utterly beyond com- 
putation. He has been called a great man, and his name 
has been flaunted in the face of the youth as a hero. I be- 
lieve the better and final verdict of history will be that he 
was a monster of selfishness. His infidelity to his wife and 
to other women, and his disregard of everybody's rights, 

53 



SELF-MASTERY OK MEN AND NATIONS 

make him such a monster. Some of the modern Napoleons 
of finance, sometimes called Captains of Industry, deserve 
rather the title of "Commercial Bandit." 

I have never experienced the sensations of those who 
command large forces of men or money. That is the privi- 
lege of the few. I have, however, many times tasted the joy 
of command over circumstances, and the powers and forces 
within me. This joy is new every morning. It comes as 
I breathe the air of Alps or Appenines, and drink their snow- 
melted waters. It comes as I walk beneath the palms of 
the tropics, brush the dew from the heather of Ireland, or 
breathe the perfume of the pines of Norway. I have this 
joy also, that no curses of the conquered nor groans of 
the dying torture my ear. Some in many lands say, as I 
talk with them and then go on my way with my luggage 
in my own hand, "There goes a foreigner and a stranger 
who feels with us who toil. He calls us his neighbors and 
treats us as such." The world has room for fifteen hundred 
million such conquerors, each one a self-master. 

A fawning courtier said to Philip II of Spain, when he 
was but five years old, as he looked down on the multitude 
from the palace, "You own all those people." His after life 
and history show that this was a pernicious falsehood to 
teach the child. Rather he should have been told : "Even 
your clothes were earned and are owned by some one else, 
but they are freely furnished you while you are too young to 
earn them. Your first duty is to learn to serve yourself, to 
master yourself, and the circumstances about you. You are 
to serve these people for their good. If you do this, the 
people will not forget to honor you." 

God's condition of personal content and happiness re- 
quires one to do more than his share of the hard work of the 
world, and receive for it less than he has truly earned. This 
excess means progress. Exactly balanced accounts would 
mean stagnation, or even decay. What one does is apt to 
look larger to himself than to others. What he receives is 

54 



SELF-MASTERY OF MEN 

apt to look smaller to him than to others. If every person 
could be put on canvas in two pictures, the one how big he 
looks to himself, and the other how big he looks to the 
world, would there not be some odd contrasts ! It might 
require a large canvas in one case, and a strong microscope 
in the other to make both plain. 

Discussing the question of taking third class passage on 
a certain steamer, I am asked, "Is there a steerage also?" 
The import of the question is, "Is there a still lower class 
to take the least desirable persons away from my presence?" 
My reply is, "I have no right to fix for myself this condi- 
tion of comfort, that some one else must have less than I 
have/' There is far too much of that spirit in human 
make-up. Some persons want to travel first class and have 
others in the second or third class for the sake of contrast. 
It is a bad spirit that seeks to rise by putting some one else 
down. That was not the Master's way. It is not even the 
way a bird rises in the air. He spreads his own wings and 
rises by mastering himself and the elements. If we who 
have had better chances than those in the steerage, do not 
like their company nor their accommodations, it is in our 
power to improve both to the degree of making them tol- 
erable to us. Sometimes the steerage people are crowded 
because the big ones with their suites of rooms take more 
than their share of the space. Shame on the man or woman 
who has no other claim to distinction except the money to 
buy new clothes frequently, and then to demand some freak 
mark on them to show they are the latest style. They thus 
make young men and women, doing honest work on small 
wages, ashamed of good clothes simply because they are a 
little out of style. This very thing leads many young per- 
sons into vice, immorality and crime. Many of these rich 
and stylishly dressed people are parasites, and never even 
earned their own living. They are corrupting the young, 
by their bad example, with other people's money. There is 
an element which says, "Take the money away from the 

55 



SELF-MASTERY OF MEN AND NATIONS 

rich and extravagant by force." That would be criminal; 
two crimes do not neutralize each other. The remedy is to 
teach the young better ways. We can remedy many ills 
by a good healthy public sentiment. If certain people were 
made to feel they were not envied, but despised for their 
prodigal waste of the earth's products that God meant for 
all, they would soon change. Many of them could thus be 
transformed into good, desirable citizens. 

THD MASTERY OF MONEY. 

One very important field of conquest is the mastery of 
money. I have no war against money or wealth ; both are 
necessary, and are the results of labor and service applied 
to God's gifts of material. Neither is there any question of 
equality of wealth among people — talent to handle money 
varies as other special talents do. The presence of paupers 
and of multi-millionaires, however, shows great faults some- 
where. There is urgent need of instruction in the right use 
of money, and of a strong sentiment to make all men honest 
and public-spirited so that they will be fair in the distribu- 
tion of the profits from business and in grasping the world's 
natural resources. 

Let me now give the substance of the teaching of my 
home and of later experience in this matter. It is my pur- 
pose here to combine the wisdom of religion, education, 
business, and science. I shall personify this knowledge, to 
help others grasp the true nature and use of money, and 
better appreciate its value. Mr. Money is not afraid to 
stand up in a strong light before a mirror and look at him- 
self. He is willing to be examined by any and all experts 
by means of the most searching tests. They may use accu- 
rate scales, the microscope, or acids ; he will stand the triple 
test of science, business and religion. Like religion, he is 
not responsible for any counterfeits ; they must stand on 
their own merits. 



56 



SELF-MASTERY OF MEN 

MY FATHER INTRODUCES ME TO A GOOD FRIEND. 

"My son, I introduce you to an old friend and servant 
of the family. You will need to get well acquainted with 
him, and learn how to get along with him. He is very obe- 
dient and useful in the hands of a master, but he has great 
power for harm if he is wrongly used. If he harms you, 
after you have had a chance to know his powers and possi- 
bilities, it is your own fault. Treat him well and he will 
serve you ; honor him and he will honor you ; dishonor him 
and he will dishonor you, and very likely leave you. There 
is no telling to what degree of misery and wretchedness you 
may come if he should desert you, or you should desert him. 
Bear in mind, however, that you must be the master, not 
he. Also remember always and everywhere, the master and 
servant are friends. If each person performs his part, knows 
his place, and is honest and true to himself and to his Maker, 
all goes well. You two had better sit down and have a talk, 
and get acquainted with each other. Mr. Money has traveled 
very extensively, has moved in the best society, and also in 
the worst. He was given a duty to perform for men in the 
education and happiness of the race. Wherever that duty 
called him, he has gone and has done his part. He is not 
to blame for the bad reputation some people have given him. 
Like some persons, his reputation has suffered from the 
acts of others. They were weak and bad, and have taken 
him with them into all sorts of sin and folly, and then they 
have laid the blame on him. If a man uses his hands to 
cut off his toes, he must not blame his hands or the ax, 
but himself. My son, I introduce you to your friend and 
servant, Mr. Gold Dollar Money." 

"Good morning, Mr. Money, I am glad to meet you ; I 
trust we shall always be friends. I like true friends, and 
I am trying to get more of them. We do not call anybody 
servant in our house, except with the thought of honor and 
respect; we try to serve God, ourselves, and each other. 
Father says you have traveled very extensively, that you 

57 



SELF-MASTERY OF MEN AND NATIONS 

have had great opportunities to learn and to know the world. 
I have wanted to travel and see the world ever since I be- 
gan to study geography. Do tell me about yourself. Where 
do you come from, and what have you seen in your travels ? 
I hope you may help me to travel some time. I am surely 
very glad to have so valuable and experienced a friend." 

"My young friend, I am very glad to meet you and to 
serve you to the best of my ability. I trust our associations 
will be mutually helpful. Your parents are both old friends 
of mine ; they have always considered me as one of the 
family, and have neither abused nor dishonored me. I am 
really an agent representing the firm of Service, Labor & 
Company, a firm of very wide experience. Like many other 
firms, it was very small at first, but now is very large and 
influential. As to my origin, you and I have the same Cre- 
ator. God made me and put me away for safekeeping until 
I was needed. Some other metals and minerals, such as iron 
and coal, He made in very large quantities, and put on the 
surface or near k where they were easily found. He gave 
me a different work to do, made me rare and placed me 
where men have to dig and work hard to get me. You have 
heard me called by all sorts of names, clean and pure, and 
vile and filthy, by turns. I have been praised and honored 
as the divine and good, and I have been maligned and had 
all sorts of blame laid upon me. Everybody is after me ; 
some treat me well and I stay with them ; some treat me 
shamefully and I leave them. Some have boasted, and 
claimed to be very distinguished because they have had me 
in their service. Some have taken vows of poverty and 
would not have me with them, and then they go around 
begging their bread from my friends who treat me better. 
Some persons make me into rings for their ears, fingers and 
noses, crowns for their heads, and chains for their necks, 
and then they strut around like a peacock with his tail 
spread, with this difference — the peacock wears his own 
fineries, these people boast themselves in borrowed garments. 

58 



SELF-MASTERY OF MEN 

"I have been greatly misunderstood by the world, good 
and bad. The fact is, I am one of God's servants and have 
an individual duty to Him. I must be true to myself, and to 
my mission, somewhat like a human being. If I am gold 
in the hands of a saint, I must be gold in the hands of a 
sinner ; I owe this to myself and to my Maker. I am the 
same lying in the mud as when worn as an ornament by a 
king. If I were not so, I would be of no use. 

"If you honor me, I will honor you in return. If you 
trade me off for some worthless thing, or something that 
is bad, such as liquor, tobacco or vice, you dishonor me and 
I will be a curse to you. If you send me to do any mean, 
disgraceful work, I will leave you, and the blame and the 
penalty will finally fall on yourself and others. People will 
reject you and put you out, but they will welcome me back 
at the mere sight of me. If from being in dirty hands, I 
am dirty and unattractive on the outside, they will always 
look below the surface with me, but not always the same 
with you. Even when my representative, Mr. Paper Money, 
goes in my place, they always w< elcome him back from any- 
where. Though he is ragged and dirty, if there is enough of 
him left, so they can recognize his face, they receive him. 
They accept him from black, yellow or white people. No 
race or color mark counts against the Money family. 

"People may call me evil names, but they do not mean it. 
You must judge a man by his conduct, not by his words, if 
the two do not agree. They say the fool and his money are 
soon parted, and then after the separation everybody runs 
after'the money, but nobody cares for the society of the fool. 
If they flattered and fawned on him before, it is plain now 
that his worth lay in his money and not in himself. I do 
not like a fool's company. I would never stay with one at 
all if it were not that he has some sensible friend in the 
house who does not disgrace me. You know some rich 
men raise their children as fools, and then even after they 
are grown up, they have to employ some prudent person 

59 



SELF-MASTERY OF MEN AND NATIONS 

to stay in the house and look after me or I would leave them. 
The fault was that the parents gave too much of their time 
and attention to me and to enjoying themselves, and too 
little to their own children. They say I am a good servant, 
but a bad master. The same is said of fire and water ; both 
are true. Gold, fire, water, and all other elements and forces 
were given each its place in the service of God and man. 
Where we cause any serious discord in the affairs of men, 
it is because they have failed to use their intelligence to the 
best account. We are the friends of man, and God has 
given us our fields of service which we can not desert. You 
•fill your place as faithfully as we do ours, and you will help 
and not hinder the cause of progress." 

"Thank you, Mr. Money, for your interesting and in- 
structive history. I see you are a valuable friend, and I 
shall do my best to honor you, by never sending you on any 
disgraceful errands. I will make this agreement with you. 
You are never to part from me without leaving a good sub- 
stitute in your place ; some one who for that particular oc- 
casion can serve me better than you can. When I need to 
call for the help of some other friend such as bread or books, 
fuel or railroad tickets, I shall have to send you after them. 
I will never send you after any booze, and very rarely after 
any foolishness. " 

"Very well, young man, stand by your part of the con- 
tract, and I will stand by mine." 

I wish it were possible in a few words to tell all the 
young people of the world what an excellent servant-friend 
money is. I take off my hat in respect to the great business 
integrity of the civilized world in the matter of money, as I 
have been so greatly aided by it in my travels in foreign 
lands. It strengthens my faith in God and humanity enor- 
mously, and I see that ere long the time will come when, 
as a gold coin is now the standard of value in business, so 
the personal Christ will become the standard and measure 
of a man the world around. 

60 



CHAPTER III 
THE INDIVIDUAL AND SELF-MASTERY 

God is the most perfect individual possible. He is a 
distinct entity. He can not be confused with others. 
Though God is a perfect individual, He was not satisfied 
to remain alone, nor was He content simply with the 
creation of the universe and the lower forms of life. This 
means a great degree of personal responsibility for each 
individual man and woman. 

Man is a distinct individual ; he can not cross with any 
animal. He is born as if the only one and dies as if alone. 
He can live alone if others will let him, but he is liable to 
become helpless and dependent. This fact proves that man's 
independence and individuality are limited to their definite 
spheres. Like the two wheels of a cart, each has its part 
to perform, but to accomplish the work of the cart com- 
bination is necessary; they must co-operate. 

Man must make his own child so strong in body and 
spirit that he will give up his life before he will yield to 
grievous sin. His child must become strong and good 
enough to walk with God, and have God satisfied with his 
company. Christ walked with His disciples, and all went 
well while they were willing to learn and try to keep step 
with Him. The crowds followed Him and accepted His 
food and other miracles, the Pharisees and scribes tried to 
direct His plans, and a rupture followed. In all co-opera- 
tion the finite must conform to the infinite, and not the re- 
verse. 

Each individual must have knowledge and the right to 
come directly to God in the development and duties of his 
personality. God has made the way, and man must teach 

61 



SELF-MASTERY OF MEN AND NATIONS 

every child to find and use it for himself. This is a privi- 
lege and duty which he owes to God, to himself, and to his 
neighbors. Any person who sets himself up as a toll-gate be- 
tween God and His children is an enemy to both. No 
person has the right to stand between any child and God 
except as a light to guide, or a finger-post to point the way. 

The smallest individual or unit has rights and duties 
that can not be delegated to others. An individual stone has 
its identity, yet it allows itself to become merged into a 
larger unit such as a house or wall. So man must allow his 
individual to be merged into the larger unit of the family, 
the nation, and the world. It is the duty of every human 
unit to become a part of larger benevolent units such as 
Christian work requires, but not in an army for oppression 
or plunder, nor in any combination for dishonest or fraudu- 
lent purposes. A rope of sand and a heap of fiber are neu- 
tral factors. As the grains of sand are united by cement, 
and the fibers of the rope by twisting, so men must be held 
together by a combining element of common interest. 

Man tries to reproduce himself in an automatic machine. 
He has accomplished much, but finds his limitations, as 
the thing made can never equal its maker ; he could not 
give it life and will power. What would happen if he could ? 
The same that happens between man and his Maker now — 
the machine would defy its maker and rebel against him until 
it learned better. We must believe man's rebellion is caused 
by his lack of training and knowledge, as a rational being 
will choose the best of several courses when he knows them 
and is master of himself. Men are coming to understand 
God better, and see that He does not need servants to bring 
Him some object, but that He desires companionship in love 
and in His work for the race. Man can not create anything, 
but he can so transform material that it very closely re- 
sembles creating. Man would not be satisfied with his ma- 
chines, however perfect ; he would want to talk and think 
with his own, and God has provided for this. A pair, one 

62 



THE INDIVIDUAL AND SELF-MASTERY 

man and one woman, may unite and several children of 
their own flesh and blood are within their power. These 
offspring share the color and characteristics of their par- 
ents, and while young they are so immature and plastic that 
the parents can teach them their language, guide their 
thoughts, and shape their lives. Thus the parents lead their 
children on to maturity with God's help, and at last the 
children may care for the aged parents, and train succes- 
sors to themselves. The children of other parents may be 
adopted and become as one's own, thus proving the common 
parentage of all mankind, and also that all can live as one 
great family. Is anything in the range of thought more 
complete and excellent than this? 

Serving one's self. — The individual needs to be taught 
the honor and dignity of all useful work. No human being 
has any right to ask or hire another to do for him what he 
would be ashamed to do for himself. It does not matter 
whether it be regarded as a menial task such as to scrub a 
floor or wash one's clothes ; or whether it be to wreck a 
bank, sell liquor, or become an agent for some other crime. 
Such an idea as a "servant class" is preposterous, and an 
enemy of self-mastery and individual development. In the 
growth of each there is a period of service in simpler things, 
then that of a more difficult nature. God intended each in- 
dividual to wait on himself where this is possible, and not 
to keep slaves or servants. He may have helpers in any- 
thing, and to any extent needed, but this fixes no rank. 
Christ Himself served others and lost no dignity, but gained 
thereby. No animal, useful to man, lives on the blood of 
others ; beasts and birds of prey are of no further use than 
their skins or plumage. 

FAITH H£AUNG AND INDIVIDUAL PRAYERS. 

I heard an address at the cathedral in Algiers by the 
Chanoine Ballon to a large audience of men. He is a very 
gifted orator and speaks French so that it sounds like music. 

63 



SELF-MASTERY OF MEN AND NATIONS 

He spoke half an hour to a rapt congregation, mostly in de- 
fense of miraculous healing, and especially of the claims put 
forth for the Grotto of Lourdes. He attacked all opponents 
of those claims. He said : 'Cures are genuine, instantaneous 
and complete. Scientists find the plague in rats and pre- 
vent the spread of the disease. They affect material by 
material ; Lourdes cures without material/ My reply and 
application is this: 'Whatever the Church at Lourdes may 
do, its cures are very limited and hard to reach. It would 
seem better for all cures to be conducted on a larger and 
more scientific scale by using any available means, and by 
having it done at home — sick people are in no condition to 
take long journeys. If God cures through the agency of 
Lourdes, how is it to be reconciled with His wisdom and 
His individual care of men? I reply, 'The individual is so 
important in God's plan and promise that at times He hears 
the prayer and heals the patient, even though some one may 
take advantage of these circumstances for selfish purposes, 
or even to propagate a fraud and make money. The Church, 
the Mormons, Dowie, and others have been accused of doing 
this. Would you let your child drown when he had fallen 
into the water, simply because your enemy would cling to 
his clothes and thus be rescued ? Would you let your child 
starve rather than have some enemy share his food for a 
brief time? Your duty and care for your individual child 
would be the mastering motive in spite of all else, and you 
would help both to save your child. So with God, for He 
sends rain on the just and the unjust. 

Individual persons, like individual telephone poles, must 
be able to support themselves and each help his neighbor on 
either side. A broken pole that hangs on the wires may ruin 
the line ; such poles are soon removed under good manage- 
ment. The same principle holds with persons, and the one 
who hangs as a dead weight on his neighbors is a menace to 
the community. Each person should feel that it is an honor 
to support himself and help his neighbor, and that it is a 

6 4 



THE INDIVIDUAL AND SELF-MASTERY 

disgrace to hang as a dead weight on others and be sup- 
ported by them. Society has far too many rotten telephone 
poles, from the ranks of the haughty and wealthy beggar 
down to the poor beggar and tramp. The rich beggar riding 
in an expensive auto is far more contemptible than the way- 
side tramp, and he exerts a more baneful influence on the 
young. 

It is a good thing for one to stand off at a little distance 
and look at himself occasionally. I like to think of myself 
as the man who will not waste money on himself or any one 
else ; who will not be a slave to his gullet or any other part 
of his body ; whose head must rule, and even the better part 
of that. The head is virtually the individual of the body, 
the gullet is a sort of superintendent of the stomach and di- 
gestive system, and the reproductive organs are superin- 
tendents of race continuance, having an important function 
touching the virility and self-assertion of the whole man. 
The gullet and reproductive organs are so strong they are 
prone to overreach their duties, and work ruin to the man. 
They are good servants if the head keeps them in their true 
places and does not allow them to do any bossing. 

The individual can not delegate his own peculiar duties 
to others. It is plain that the body must eat, sleep, and rest 
for itself, if it is to grow or even live. This proves that the 
spirit also has independent duties necessary to its life and 
growth. The spirit must come in contact with the mind 
and person of God its Maker; it must think of Him and 
receive inspiration and growth from Him. My spirit and 
body take counsel together in all things. The spirit must 
not keep the body at work too long without rest, nor allow 
too much idleness. I have many times been tired in my 
study and felt like lying down, but my spirit told me to go 
out and exercise in the open air. The spirit must not allow 
the body to eat or drink to its own hurt. The body must not 
load the stomach so as to drown and deaden the spirit. Both 
meet in counsel, but the spirit must rule. The spirit can 

6 5 



SELF-MASTERY OF MEN AND NATIONS 

train the body to many changes by degrees. It must train 
all heads of departments, such as the mouth, the eyes, the 
hands, and brain, in rigid service to the higher nature. The 
great end of this structure, called man, is to become a com- 
plete, individual master of itself, and its further develop- 
ment. 

THE HUMAN FAMILY AS AN INDIVIDUAL. 

As the body can not grow by consuming itself — by one 
part living on another — so the individual race must not con- 
sume itself. The law of growth for this world is that each 
order shall grow by reorganizing the lower into itself. The 
plant reorganizes the soil, the animal feeds on the plant, and 
man consumes both plants and animals in his growth. 

The greatest blunder of the present is for one part of 
the race to cheat and plunder another part, that is an at- 
tempt to get what another has earned, while giving no equiv- 
alent for it ; that is communal suicide. It must become the 
rule to give as much for service and commoditites as is con- 
sistent with that side of the bargain; and to give as much 
of service and of wares as that side will allow. In short, 
we ought to pay the largest price we can afford, and give as 
much for the price as we can afford. There is a tradition 
that a king should be generous whether he buys or sells — 
in buying he must give a good price, in selling he must give 
good measure. The self-mastered individual must be a king 
in these things. There is an element and ideal in kingship 
that should be preserved, and used liberally as an ingredient 
in the future race when every man shall be king of himself 
and his sphere of action. That was the Great Teacher's way 
and His example to men. His rule was, never destroy but 
transform; never fraud and robbery, but fair and honest 
exchange. 

THE) mob spirit. 

The crime of the mob is that the individual is lost in 
the crowd. It is a kind of madness that runs away with 

66 



THE INDIVIDUAL AND SELF-MASTERY 

reason and does foolish and criminal things. The mob 
spirit — the extinction of the individual in the crowd — is the 
crime of nations in war, and of smaller groups in society, 
in false religions, in fashion, and in political parties and cor- 
porations. The separate individuals would not do what the 
combined individuals do where each shirks his duty. 

For a frolic, people sometimes assume a degree of sav- 
agery, put on grotesque masks to hide their faces, and show 
rudeness not their wont when unmasked. Officers and men 
in armies and corporations hide behind the "army" or the 
"company" or the "corporation." "The State pays the bills," 
said a lawyer to me, after two of them had wrangled a long 
time about the stealing of several melons. Those were ex- 
pensive melons to the State. Those two lawyers would have 
come to the point with less parleying had they paid the cost. 
The heads of government and of corporations do things that 
they as persons would not do. Lawyers defend villains as 
legal counsel whom they would scorn to defend as men. 
They would not, as men, become the hired servant of such 
creatures to help them escape just punishment. The work of 
some so-called criminal lawyers if accurately expressed 
would read, "The hired valet of villains to keep them out 
of prison, or off the scaffold." There is a mob spirit in the 
tradition of the profession. Am I severe? Go around the 
world where I have gone, and look into the faces of as 
many thousands of men in prison garb as I have seen, of 
every shade and color of skin, and you may be severe too. 
It is no favor to any criminal to encourage him to think he 
can hire a talented professional to become his servant, do 
his bidding, and free him from deserved punishment. 

The most barbarous persecutions have been carried on in 
France, Spain and elsewhere in the name of the church. 
Thousands of their own best citizens have been murdered 
or banished at the order of Church dignitaries, who, as men, 
would have blushed with shame at such deeds. I believe 
many of them would have suffered for those same persons 

6 7 



SELF-MASTERY OF MEN AND NATIONS 

whose torture and murder they ordered or executed, if they 
had come to them as individuals. Members of city councils, 
of State Legislatures, and of Congress, at times vote away 
money like water, because the State pays the bills. If they 
took time to think "my neighbor pays for this, the tax- 
payers who elected me must pay these big expenses," many 
legislative bills would never be presented. The world needs 
to study the causes of its crimes and failures far more than 
it does. To first find the leak is the way to stop the water 
from entering the ship — the world has already been pump- 
ing too long to keep it afloat. The individual offender must 
be sought out and corrected. Generals, kings, and their min- 
ions who execute barbarous orders are men ; they must be 
treated as such. Seek out the culprit, and deal with him. 
Cease to scold the times, the other party, or the world in 
general, and fix the blame where it belongs. Let the lawyer 
cease to lay down his individual manhood to hire out to the 
criminal for personal service. It would be more honorable 
to black his boots for money than his soul, and he does the 
latter when he lets a culprit out of prison to continue his 
crimes. A highly respected lawyer, speaking of the inmates 
of the State prison, said this to me : "These men are a hard 
lot, you can do nothing for them. I have gotten them out 
of prison on a writ of habeas corpus, on their promise to 
pay me, and they will go off and I never hear from them 
again." He knew those fellows had had every chance to 
prove their innocence before sentence was pronounced. 

Men are helped into Congress by a hired agent saying 
what he knows is false to get his employer in favor with the 
people; he has laid down his individuality and become the 
attorney in the case. Women follow the fashion in the 
same spirit; they would not throw aside such good clothes 
and buy new in their own individual judgment. The ec- 
clesiastic has all too long laid down his individuality and fol- 
lowed effete and bad tradition. Suppose every priest and 
clergyman were set free from tradition to act in his own 

68 



THE INDIVIDUAL AND SELF-MASTERY 

personal capacity with this command : "Now, you stand on 
your own feet, you are responsible for all your own acts 
and words, God who knows the facts calls on you for frank, 
honest conduct." What would follow? Some would go on 
just the same, but many would throw up their hands in 
grateful freedom, and be the men they have wanted to be but 
could not. Do you say they have been dishonest? No, not 
dishonest, but held by the mob spirit of tradition. No one 
man can break those chains. The right ones in high author- 
ity might, if they would, but they are usually too old to 
change. They are fixed in a vise of lost individuality — 
frozen in the ice of an ecclestiastical glacial period that has 
been crowding down on the warmer regions and freezing out 
the true religious life. This is no time for discouragement, 
that ice is being thawed, but it has left much detritus that 
must be cleared away. Too many break away from God, 
the Bible and the church, and fancy themselves free. This 
is a fatal mistake ; it is only from false tradition they should 
separate themselves. 

INDEPENDENCE OF THE INDIVIDUAL. 

The farmer seeks to get plants that will thrive on poor 
soil, and animals that give a good account of their feed and 
care. The same principle applies to man. The powers of 
the individual need to be so well developed that he may be 
independent of special favors, and will thrive on poor soil. 
Much of the aristocracy and many of the children of the 
rich have been a failure because they have been trained to 
dependence, and their own individuality has been neglected. 
Put them in fair competition with others and they fail. 
They were taught false notions of their own importance. 
In countries where labor is looked down upon as not the 
thing for a gentleman to do, and where only a laborer may 
appear to wait on himself, progress is slow through the loss 
of much good talent. Slaves do not often invent new ma- 
chinery, drudgery absorbs their energies. It is free men, 

69 



SELF-MASTERY OF MEN AND NATIONS 

strong each in his own individuality and originality, who in- 
vent new ways and appliances of progress. 

There are many people independent of any one as to 
enough income for their needs, who owe it to the world to 
stand for freedom and right. Some of these know if they 
spoke the truth about certain ones in power, of wealth, or 
office, they would no longer receive the greatly coveted in- 
vitations to receptions and social functions. Miserable 
bribes are these, the price of liberty. Too bad to sell one's 
birthright of freedom for such a mess of pottage. What 
would one give for a watchdog to guard his home if he 
could be bought off merely with a bone, or a "nice doggy, 
doggy ?" There are far too many intelligent persons bought 
off by a bribe of flattering words, or an occasional bone from 
the tables of influential sinners against the State and the 
world. Many of these flatterers are not bad at heart, but 
they are so comfortable themselves they actually do not know 
they are taking more than their share. "You are choking the 
baby with your tobacco smoke, sir," said a mother apolo- 
getically to a smoker, and he was man enough to reply, 
"Well, baby, I beg your pardon, I did not think anything 
about it, my babies are used to smoke, and do not object to 
it." There are many such who, if made conscious of their 
wrong to others, would think it a privilege to know and stop 
it. It is no privilege to the individual to be allowed to go on 
wronging his fellow-men. If I am standing on your toes to 
raise me out of the mud and do not know it, it is due me to 
be told now, that I may step off and apologize. You will 
likely tell of it later after I am away. 

Cowards in high places is the description that best fits 
many of those men who stand near despots. It is sad that 
men like the Duke of Alva and others did not have the 
courage to say to their sovereign, "Sire, that is a barbarous 
order, I can not execute it." The man who is making bad 
history for himself has a right to know it in time to change. 
The last word has not yet been spoken of many who have 

70 



THE INDIVIDUAL AND SELF-MASTERY 

been excused "because of their times. " They made those 
times. We owe it to our children to disavow and condemn 
the bad deeds of our forefathers. Near the time of his death, 
Philip II. of Spain felt remorse because he had been such 
a demon of cruelty for the church. There were those who 
knew it at the time, who were high enough in authority to 
have been entirely safe in telling him so, yet they urged 
him on to his infamous life and record. 

The true greatness of the individual is the excess of his 
services above what he takes for those services. That was 
the type of Christ, Washington, Lincoln, and many others. 
One might be a great monster of selfishness like Napoleon, 
slaughtering men and dishonoring women, or he might be a 
great assassin like Abdul Hamid of Turkey. If any man 
is great he surely must be honest, and not do less than his 
part of service nor take more than his share of desirable 
things. When he is at this point he is merely on the level — 
— if truly great, he must excel in these virtues. A rich man 
ought to be one who has produced far more than he con- 
sumes — not simply one who holds a large sum given him or 
gotten dishonestly. Regarding riches, men may be placed 
in three classes. One may die rich, that is, leave much that 
he truly added to the wealth of the world ; another may die 
just even, that is, consume all he produced; and another 
may die in debt, that is, consume more than he produced. 

INDIVIDUALITY OF TH£ CHILD. 

No person has the right to so teach a child in the field 
of religion, science or business as to weaken his individuality 
in the sphere of his personal responsibility to God and the 
State. It is a recognized wrong to cheat a child in business, 
to sell him a worthless thing, or overcharge him in price. 
By what law of reason has the idea became current that any 
one may teach a child anything he chooses in religion ? That 
is nearly the state of things at present in free countries. 
Christian, Roman, Mormon, Buddhist or Spiritualist, a pop- 

71 



SELF-MASTERY OF MEN AND NATIONS 

ular sentiment claims the right to teach any and all of these 
and infidelity besides. Why let any one poison the mind of 
a child, any more than his body? Men claim that they may 
disagree in the field of religion, but they might lay the case 
before a competent authority on the question of the grosser 
forms at least. All of these religions have had a chance to 
vindicate themselves and show their fruits somewhere in 
the world. The principle of supervision and its benefits has 
been established in the Pure Food and Drug Law. If im- 
pure food for the body can be prohibited, then the time has 
come when the mind should have better protection also. 

A sheep is useful to produce wool and mutton, and its 
characteristic is to follow the one in front of it. Man is not 
a sheep, he can produce neither wool nor mutton, and he 
must not simply follow the one who happens to be ahead 
of him. He is an intelligent individual, and as a child he 
must early be trained to think and act for himself. At the 
present time it is especially important to develop and to 
strengthen the individuality of the child for the following 
reasons : In these days of great speed in running autos, 
trains, ships, and machinery, there is often need of a quick 
and correct judgment and the mind must be trained for it. 
There are also many unworthy persons who are seeking 
preferment, or to secure some monopoly, or to get public 
sanction for bad practices. These people offer large induce- 
ments to talented young persons to do their bidding; they 
buy up newspapers, and endeavor to bribe or silence min- 
isters, editors, and teachers who might condemn their con- 
duct. In the same way they seek to secure the approval of 
respectable persons for their low amusements and extrava- 
gant personal habits. These conditions make it of vital im- 
portance to have our youth trained with a strong person- 
ality that can not be swayed or bribed into furthering the 
schemes of unworthy persons. 



72 



THE INDIVIDUAL AND SELF-MASTERY 

A BETTER PUBLIC SENTIMENT NEEDED. 

A more vigorous and more wholesome public sentiment 
is greatly needed in the present crisis. We have already too 
long spoken of wrongs in general terms, and condemned 
the administration, the party, the church, or society. It is 
time to trace everything to the last person and fix the credit 
or the blame on him. It is individual men who give orders 
to build breweries and distilleries, who scheme to defeat 
justice, proclaim war and carry it on. We should seek out 
these men and treat them as enemies working against our 
country, our State, our community, your home and mine. 
When the world begins to more systematically search for 
the chief person responsible and to say, "Thou art the man," 
there will be a great check placed upon evil, and a great 
stimulus given to good men and good measures that work 
for the common welfare. 

There are too many human sheep who produce neither 
wool nor mutton, and yet who, in the abuses and the igno- 
rance of the past, follow the one that happens to be ahead of 
them. They are found in religion, in law, in business, in 
fashion, in amusement, and in society. We need strong in- 
dividuals to lead the world, and also strong, sensible people 
to follow such leaders. No one is great unless he is great 
when he is alone. Livingstone alone in Africa was a great 
man ; Napoleon alone in St. Helena was a spoiled, petulant 
child. This world can not succeed, nor can it continue as it 
is, with only a few great men and women; the persistent 
aim must be to make all after the same great pattern. The 
business world needs large coins and small coins, but it 
can not use bogus coins. The world has room for large 
men and small men, but it has no room for false men — for 
bogus men. We will not reproach the coin for its size, 
whether it be great or small, provided it be the genuine 
metal; neither will we reproach men or women for their 
size, provided they be made of noble metal, and provided 
they stand the test of true character and genuine worth. 

73 



CHAPTER IV 
GOD AND MAN IN THE SELF-MASTERY SYSTEM 

It is not necessary to prove the existence of God any 
more than it is to prove the existence of the sun. To the 
highest intelligence, God is as evident as the sun. The sun 
itself proves it has a Maker, a continuous plan, and a mind 
superior to it. God is spirit, man is a combined being — a 
spirit inhabiting and acting by means of a body. This is 
God's creation, and like His other work, is so complete as to 
make an attempt to separate the two, even in thought, very 
difficult. The blending and union of the two is so excellent 
that some deny the existence of the spirit. Some have de- 
nied the existence of the body, claiming all reality is spirit 
and that material is imaginary. God's work in blending 
spirit and body is illustrated by an artisan who mends a 
broken article so well as to entirely conceal the break. 

The sun is to the material body what God is to the spirit. 
The sun in the past has stored away great riches in the soil, 
coal mines, peat beds, and forests. These, with the light and 
heat of the present, with the various forces of winds, rains, 
rivers and water power are the work of the sun for the body 
or physical needs of man. The body lives and grows by 
organizing the material the sun has produced. Blot out 
the sun, and very soon all life on the earth would cease. 
When one thinks of these facts it is not surprising that there 
are sun-worshipers. It would be very natural to thank the 
sun for his gifts. When one stops to think how much God 
has done for man, it is surprising that any can be found 
who are unwilling to thank God for His benefits. This must 
be because God has made man so well, that, like a good clock 
wound up, he can go on for a time entirely by himself. As 

74 



GOD AND MAN IN SELF-MASTERY SYSTEM 

the body grows by appropriating material prepared by the 
sun and combined with some minerals from the earth, so 
the spirit grows by contact with God, the Great Spirit, and 
by learning of Him. As we are now in the material world, 
and only in the early twilight of our existence, we know but 
little of the spirit. Spirit is like force and electricity, which 
we can neither see nor understand but very imperfectly. We 
observe the manifestations of these, study their laws, obey 
them, and use them for our profit. It is but reasonable that 
we should do the same with the spirit. We need to study 
and obey the laws that govern spirit development and well- 
being, in order to guide ourselves in satisfactory progress. 

Some facts can be expressed in fewest words in the form 
of question and answer. 

Who is God? 

God is the Creator of the universe, of this earth, and of 
all life everywhere. 

Why did God create the universe? 

He has an interest and pleasure in His own work and its 
excellence. He created this world for the dwelling-place 
of man. 

Why did God create man? 

He wanted the companionship and co-operation of beings 
somewhat like Himself, so He created man in His own 
image. 

What qualities does God want in man ? 

Intelligence to know and ability and strength to act. 
Honesty and trustworthiness so that he will not do less 
than his part of the work, nor take more than his share of 
desirable things. 

Freedom for each to think and act within his own sphere. 

Why did not God create man honest, so he would do right 
by nature? Power can not create a man twenty-five years 
old, that is, with the experience and knowledge that are 
gained by experiment and the test of living with his fellow- 
men. 

75 



SELF-MASTERY OF MEN AND NATIONS 

Has man power to create? 

Man can not create, but he can so transform many things 
that it very closely resembles the creation of new objects. 
A pair, one man and one woman, can bring into the world 
new beings like themselves. These children are so unde- 
veloped that the parents can shape their lives and habits, 
their language, their religion and their modes of thought 
very much as they wish. 

Did God instruct man concerning his life and conduct ? 

In His Word God revealed the important things to 
prophets and teachers, and these were to instruct others ; and 
thus man was especially instructed how to treat his fellow- 
man and his Maker. The greatest teacher of all was God's 
only Son, who came to earth to be born like any person, ex- 
cept that God was His father and a virgin His mother. This 
son, Jesus, lived in an ordinary home, obeyed His parents, 
learned to work, and to read like other boys. He labored 
to support Himself and help the family like other boys and 
men. When He w r as about thirty years old, He began His 
special mission, which was to teach and show the people 
how to live and do their duty toward God, toward their 
fellow-men, and toward themselves. 

Did Jesus teach men all they needed to know concerning 
their conduct toward each other? 

He gave the great principles and rules sufficient for in- 
telligent persons to begin with, and promised further help 
as it should be needed. 

Is there any reliable record of these events ? 

The Bible is such a record. The Old Testament gives 
many facts regarding the history and duties of man up to 
the time of Christ. The New Testament furnishes a brief 
account of the life and teachings of Christ, and of the be- 
ginning of the Christian age and church. 

Are there many questions about God and ourselves that 
can not be answered? 

There are very many questions which can not yet be an- 

7 6 



GOD AND MAN IN SELF-MASTERY SYSTEM 

swered in all fields of man's activity. As a race, man is in 
the earlier stages of his development, and he is in part to 
work out his own salvation himself. 

It is not important to discuss the question as to what God 
could do ; it is better to limit ourselves to what He has done 
and what He is still doing. Evidently He worked alone for 
a time, then He called to His aid this whole universe. He 
prepared the earth for man, and then called man to aid in 
further developing the earth and its resources. Man's 
greatest work is to develop himself and the whole race of 
mankind, under the Divine direction and help. 

GOD IS A FATHER. 

Since God calls Himself Father and ourselves His chil- 
dren, we can learn many of our duties to Him by what we 
know of the duties of children to their parents. By knowing 
what the best parents' desire in their children, we can know 
much of what God desires in us. 

Man wants his own child to be intelligent, strong and 
true. He would not keep him a babe if he could ; he teaches 
him to walk and to talk as soon as possible. He wants him 
to stand on his own feet, and not be led by others, but 
rather to be a leader among his fellow-men. He wants him 
to become a fully developed, self-directing individual, an 
honor to his parents, to his country, and to God. Man is 
quite willing to have his own children more capable than his 
neighbor's children. God has no "neighbor's children," 
hence He is a better judge between man and man. A 
father can and will do better for a child that obeys him and 
tries to learn, than for one who is disobedient and refuses 
to perform the tasks given him. The same is true of God. 

The father wants the companionship of his children ; he 
wants a close friendship between them and himself. If they 
are out of sight, he wishes to hear from them. He wants 
them to come to him for help in genuine needs, but he does 
not want them to sit down and cry for trifles; he wants 

77 



SELF-MASTERY OF MEN AND NATIONS 

them to use and thus develop their own powers. God does 
the same with man. No father owning a large island, and 
having a number of children, would so divide that island 
inheritance as to give each a complete monopoly of some 
necessary product or privilege. To illustrate: The father 
would not give one son the monopoly of the fuel, another 
of the food, another of the water supply, another of the edu- 
cation, and another of the religious affairs and morals. The 
father would, for the sake of justice and to avoid strife, so 
far as possible make these necessities open and free to each 
and all of the children. We must then conclude that all 
monopolies are against God's will. Least of all would God 
give to any person or class of persons a monopoly of the 
way to reach Himself and heaven. God surely would leave 
the way to His house and home without gates or bars that 
might be in the control of one person against another. A 
servant who would not let the children see the father's 
will, and would interpret it to suit himself and for his own 
gain, would be regarded as an enemy to both. The conclu- 
sion then is this : Those priests and ecclesiastics who claim 
the right to stand between God and His children as confes- 
sors, who deny the people the use of God's will and testa- 
ment, and who claim to have a monopoly of the way to 
heaven, are false teachers. The people who are thus de- 
ceived finally reject such a God and such priests. This is 
exactly what has occurred in Portugal, and to some extent 
in Italy, Spain, Mexico and other countries where the Bible 
has not been allowed in the hands of the people, and where 
the children have been required to make their confession 
through a priest. Portugal rejects God because He has not 
been made known to them as He really is. The people them- 
selves say the priests have kept them in ignorance and 
poverty while they have claimed to teach them God's will; 
now they reject both God and the priests. It is not because 
they are Portuguese, for the people in that country who 
know God believe in Him. It is not the fault of true re- 

78 



GOD AND MAN IN SELF-MASTERY SYSTEM 

ligion; it is the fault of a pernicious system of foreign 
domination, developed and carried on for many centuries 
as a monopoly in the interests of Vatican Rome. It is only 
fair to God and to Portugal that the Christians of the world 
should send the Bible and true teachers to that country to 
help the people to know God their Father as He really is. 

Much of the teaching of the church has mystified God 
and made people afraid of Him. He has been represented 
as a terrible being inhabiting another realm, where man can 
iiot approach Him until he dies and is purified in some way 
by suffering. Certainly God is far above us in goodness, but 
He is still our Father, by His own Word. To illustrate: 
We are not to go to church in the morning and act as 
though God were there, and an hour later go on a frolic 
with the sinners and act as though God had stayed in the 
church and was unacquainted with our conduct. Honor 
Him in the sanctuary, but do not dishonor Him in the frolics 
of life. Some excuse themselves from obeying God because 
they do not know 7 Him fully. The donkey is a good model 
in this respect. I have many times admired the conduct of 
that faithful animal as I have seen him in Mexico, in Spain, 
or in Palestine. He obeys the highest authority he knows 
and carries his burden patiently. He seems to make the 
best of his lot, and is fed and cared for by his master. If 
men were only as sensible with their Good Master all would 
go better. 

Believing and Understanding. — Some say they will not 
believe what they can not understand. Let me talk to such 
personally. You do not understand electricity, yet you walk 
and work by its light with great profit to yourself. You do 
not understand God, yet if you will walk and work by His 
light it will also be greatly to your advantage. The power 
of electricity adds very much to comfort and speed in 
travel. So God will aid very much in the progress and 
growth of the soul and character. You respect electricity 
and obey its laws — you will not touch a live wire. You 

79 



SELF-MASTERY OF MEN AND NATIONS 

take the word of thos^ who make a careful study of that 
subject and are competent to judge. Simply do the same 
with God and you will soon come to understand enough to 
lead you to seek earnestly to know more of Him. You say 
you are not asked to love electricity. No, but if you should 
learn that electricity is not simply a great force, but a per- 
son who knows you and loves you, would it not be a joy to 
think of such a one as your friend? I find it so with God, 
and millions have done the same. I have been in a foreign 
land in a strange room and it was dark. I obeyed a law of 
electricity, I turned a button, and it was light ; that power had 
come to my aid. I was lonely. I obeyed a law of God, I 
called on Him, and there was divine Companionship, I was 
no longer lonely. Further, I did not need to seek companion- 
ship on the streets or in questionable places. Good company 
is not so easy to find as bad in a strange land. The bad seeks 
you in hope of gain, the good shuns you for fear of loss. 
Only one good, safe place do I know that is always open 
to the stranger — that is the house of God. I always feel 
a certain right in a church, even though it may be quite 
different from mine. The common people, at least, honor 
my Lord there, and that brings us nearer together. Wher- 
ever the missionary has preceded me and where the Bible 
is read I can find Christian companionship. I have done 
this in every land where my feet have wandered. 

WORSHIPING GOD ACCORDING TO ONE'S CONSCIENCE. 

There are those who claim the right to "worship God 
according to the dictates of their own conscience." This is 
a careless sentence that has escaped from loose thinking 
and has been allowed a measure of credit. With it is 
coupled a claim of the right to worship God or not, as one 
may choose, which is absurd. Let us look at this error. 
We are in respect to God what children in a good home 
are in respect to their father. He performs his part toward 
them, which leaves them no choice but to do their duty to 

80 



GOD AND MAN IN SELF-MASTERY SYSTEM 

him. It is their duty to obey him and give him credit 
for his benefits to them. Now, shall they perform those 
duties to their own satisfaction or to his? Plainly, to the 
father's satisfaction ; his judgment must decide. The same 
is true touching our duty toward God. Worship is due, 
and it should be according to His will, not ours. Men 
require it so ; the soldier, the sailor, the pupil in school, the 
apprentice in a shop, and the beginner everywhere fits him- 
self to the authority under which he works. He does not 
claim the right to serve his employer according to the dic- 
tates of his own conscience ; it is always the conscience of 
the superior that decides, otherwise the contract is broken. 
Thus it is God's conscience and will that must decide in 
what manner man must come to Him and worship. 

Confession to God is as much as to say, I know more 
than I did ; I am able to surpass my own yesterday, and I 
will acknowledge it to my Maker. It means progress, and 
He will be pleased to know it ; never repenting and never 
confessing would mean no progress. In developing his 
own personality, man makes better advancement after he 
has recognized and sought the help of the Great Personality. 
God has given man such a distinct identity that one can 
hold out with God against all else. He can hold out against 
God, but at the loss of everything, perhaps even his own 
self and existence. Existence would be only a misfortune 
to him after that. 

Adam's Sin. — I asked myself one day, Why did Adam 
sin? I listened intently, and this answer seemed to come 
to me — not from the dead past, but from the live future : 
"If the time spent on the criticism of our first parents had 
been given to the improvement of our grandchildren, the 
world would have been vastly better off long ago." I sug- 
gest this latter course be given a most vigorous trial. Some 
one in the past is to blame for hiding God in a cloud of 
mystery, and the glory of service in a fog of "drudgery ;" 
service cheerfully performed is not drudgery. 

81 



SELF-MASTERY OF MEN AND NATIONS 

DOES GOD CAU, SPECIAL MEN TO DO SPECIAL WORK? 

Yes, and each can refuse, and most of them do. Luther, 
Wesley, and others were called, and they obeyed. God 
raises up men, and most of them do not like the work, 
and many take the talent He gave them for His special 
service in advancing the world, and use it for selfish gain 
or glory. So God and the world must wait until some one 
more faithful comes along. It is not like God to lay so 
large a burden on the shoulders of one man. Take the 
illustration of a father who has several children. He calls 
them all up in the morning to do the work of the house- 
hold. Only one gets up ; the rest are too indolent. Does 
the father lay the burden of supporting all the rest on this 
one? No; but if he will try to do it, the father will help 
him. It would disgrace the father to have even one child 
starve to death or die of laziness. He will help the one 
who will do more than his share, and thus save the family 
honor. God is dishonored by the life of every beggar, 
whether that beggar be rich or poor. Certainly God helped 
Luther and Wesley, and He will help you and me just as 
much if we work as hard and as unselfishly. These men 
stood at the turning-points of history, and had unusual 
chances to do important things. They did them, and now 
they have great honor when it is all over. Does any one 
covet the labors and hardships of men like Luther and 
Wesley? If so, there is a great, open field to be tilled, and 
God will help him win. One must have the spirit of those 
men and work for others, and not for himself alone. No 
farmer aims to raise one big ear of corn to a bushel of 
nubbins ; he tries to raise all big ears. I think God prefers 
to raise all large men, not simply one to a generation. He 
therefore calls all men all the time to the field of great 
service. 

Stand the Test. — The God whom I worship and the 
Christ whom I serve stand the test of my keenest search- 

82 



GOD AND MAN IN SELF-MASTERY SYSTEM 

ing and of my freest thinking, provided I remain within 
the boundaries of the truth. They can be proved by ex- 
perience in storm and sunshine, in gains and losses of 
friends, in sickness and in health, in the first cabin of the 
steamer or even among Africans on the deck in the West 
Indies. I have not sought for God's presence in low dives, 
theaters, and midnight amusements. When a young man, 
I tested the most select companies and associations in the 
dance and theater realm; but, feeling out of place, and 
having a sense of the absence of God and Christ there, 
I left that crowd. I have never regretted the guidance and 
good training that warned me in time. I have gained a 
better companionship. 

ARE TRIADS SENT FROM GOD? 

Whether in former times God ever sent trials to test 
men, I do not know, but I can not believe He sends them 
now. The person himself, with the aid of his friends and 
neighbors, can furnish enough. I believe I have had my 
share of trials, but I can not trace any of them to God, 
neither have I any special charges against my fellows. I 
have tried to keep out of debt in other things, and likely, 
if my friends have been generous with me, I have paid it 
all back in regard to trials furnished. The best way out 
of any trouble is to avoid the path that leads into it. I do 
not think God has pushed me into trouble, but I know 
He has helped me out of many a difficulty. 

The following is a reflection that came to me in Brus- 
sels, after wandering over the city and recalling its history 
and the lessons it teaches. 

When man accepts God he comes to himself as one 
who had been in a long delirium of fever, while things had 
gone on unknown to him. It is somewhat like being born 
fully equipped, yet unacquainted with one's surroundings. 

He asks : "What is this ? Here is food ready prepared ; 

83 



SELF-MASTERY OF MEN AND NATIONS 

clothes that fit me ; a house to live in ; fields growing more 
food ! I see life all about me. I have life, too. What is 
life? Who am I, and who provided all these wonderful 
things for me?" 

God hears him asking all these questions, and comes to 
answer him. That is revelation, no matter whether it 
comes piecemeal from my parents and others in childhood, 
or whether it dawns on me in a few hours after the blank 
which a fever sometimes causes in the pages of life — I have 
known both. It is all revelation, and as I go along asking 
questions, God is the one at the end who answers the last 
question, and who thus reveals to me the whole circle ; I had 
seen but small segments of it before. Then I ask, "Why 
did God do all this for me, and create me with a nature 
to enjoy it?" And the answer comes, "I wanted your com- 
panionship and your help in continuing and developing this 
world; come and get acquainted with Me." This I did, 
and now I know that none who become truly acquainted 
with God will ever wish to break that acquaintance. So 
I say: "I thank Thee, Lord. I want to know the One 
so great and yet so good as to make a place complete and 
excellent like this for me. What can I do for Thee? 
What remains yet to be done in this great system?" And 
a voice seems to reply : "The heavens move on in obedience 
to My plans, and the material things of the earth are being 
rapidly developed, but the race of mankind is far below 
its destined place. All the world can be raised to the level 
of the best at present. All peoples and nations can live 
as neighbors, and the desire to be a better neighbor can be- 
come a ruling passion in the heart of every full-grown man 
and woman. I have called you to aid Me in elevating the 
whole race. This is in your power, and this work will be 
your largest field of joy and satisfaction." These are the 
visions that came to me that July day in gay, sensuous 
Brussels. 



GOD AND MAN IN SELF-MASTERY SYSTEM 

MAN IN PARTNERSHIP. 

God never put into man's physical being any elements 
or powers that his spiritual nature can not control and use 
for good. That would be unjust and unfair; that would 
not be "made in the image of God," as God has nothing 
in His nature that He can not control. There is no ani- 
mal nor animal passion that can master man. By the same 
line of reasoning we can know there is no spirit nor group 
of spirits that can master the spirit of man. But man 
must call upon his partner, God, and make his preparation 
for strength. He is accustomed to get ready for great 
enterprises ; he prepares for winter, or for war with his 
neighbor. Man is not a solitary being; he is made for 
partnership in all he undertakes. Man was made to live 
and work in pairs. Two are necessary for many kinds 
of work ; two can dig a deep well — one works at the bot- 
tom, and one at the top to bring up the dirt with a windlass. 
Two can build a high wall or a house. Two people in a 
foreign land can defy the world for companionship, though 
they require the help of others for comfort and travel. We 
can not live alone, and we can not live in defiance of others. 
One can not be a successful sheep-grower if his neighbor 
raises wolves to roam at large. The same with children. 
If people with wolf-habits live near us, our children will 
not have a fair chance. Those who gain their substance 
by crime, by liquor, by unfair means, can delay the progress 
of the world. It is a great marvel that God endures such 
people who live by destroying others. 

The whole world can be divided into two parts : one 
works, and pays its way ; the other lives by plunder, preying 
on the better part. At times the husband and wife occupy 
these two different sides, and then there is woe to the 
better one and to the children. 

There is great need that those whose hearts revel in 
luxuries should realize their partnership with those who 

85 



SELF-MASTERY OF MEN AND NATIONS 

endure hardship in preparing those luxuries. Do you who 
ride in automobiles help to send missions to the toilers in 
the dark, dismal swamps where rubber for your tires is 
gathered at such cost in human sacrifice? Those who strut 
about in borrowed, no, stolen pinions of the songsters — 
do you not care that the birds suffer for your barbarous 
pride ? You are one of a pair ; the suffering birds are the 
other. Do not be a savage. Those are God's birds sent 
to cheer the whole land ; let them live and sing. The 
progress of the world has lagged because the few in luxury 
cared so little for the rights of the multitude in need of 
many things. Ignorance is a poor excuse ; each should 
seek to know what God wants done, and then do it with 
all his might. A good dog or horse will do as much as 
that for his master — his partner. There is one pair of 
supreme importance, of which God is one and each person 
is the other. This is a partnership of the most vital im- 
portance. When God and myself testify together, the fact 
in question is established ; when we disagree, I must yield. 
There are two witnesses available for every act of life ; 
namely, one's self and God. The man who knows and trusts 
both of these does not need a boss to keep him at his task. 
He may work out of sight of his employer, but not out 
of sight of God. Oh, you business men who employ others, 
how much more it costs you to keep your men at work 
when they do not respect themselves nor God; when they 
will steal time and waste material if the eye of the over- 
seer is turned away ! It would be a vast economy to have 
all the business of the world done in personal partnership 
with God; then the employers would be fair with their 
men, and the men would all do honest work. It would 
be a great economic gain to have God as overseer for all 
partnerships of men ; for corporations and patrons, for teach- 
ers and pupils, for merchants and customers, and especially 
for husbands and wives in the life-partnership of the 
home. 

86 



GOD AND MAN IN SELF-MASTERY SYSTEM 

god's methods reasonable. 

In closing this chapter let me suggest a hypothesis in 
proof of the reasonableness of God's method in managing 
this world. 

If you could create a world, would you form all the 
heavenly bodies and the earth, set them moving like clock- 
work, and stop there ? Would these satisfy you ? No, they 
would not. Then suppose you could go on and add to this 
the whole range of plant and animal life, as we know the 
world to-day. Would you stop there? No; you would 
continue. You would want beings who could work with 
you more intelligently than the earthworm that loosens the 
soil, but knows nothing of it. Would you create a race 
of slaves to serve you by bringing you food and drink, 
and then to crouch at your feet as though you were an 
Oriental despot ? No ; so small a nature as that could never 
originate a world. 

On the contrary, would you not create beings much 
like yourself; beings who could think, though they might 
think blunderingly for a time ; beings with marvelous hands 
that could do much, though they might hurt themselves and 
others badly for a time? You could create them with the 
five senses, and give them bodies in which these could act ; 
you could create them with great powers of intelligence ; 
you could create them strong and capable — but you could 
not create them fifty years old. That is to say, you could 
not give them the slowly accumulated knowledge and ex- 
perience that a wise man gathers in fifty years of living in 
this world among other stragglers — you could not create 
them honest. An earthworm is neither honest nor dis- 
honest; it knows no code of morals. Intelligent men have 
to learn what is "mine and thine/' and how to deal with 
the two, in the school of life. They must have the power 
of choice, they must be free, and they must learn to be 
honest and true to their Maker, to themselves, and to each 
other. 

87 



SELF-MASTERY OF MEN AND NATIONS 

Let me tell you what kind of beings you would create 
if you were infinite in power and goodness. You would 
create beings suited for companionship with yourself: in- 
telligent to know, capable to do, honest to be trusted, and 
free to act. You would desire beings who would like to 
come and be near you for what you are ; who would like 
to know what you wanted done, and then go and do it 
joyfully with all their might. You and I like to have in- 
telligent persons desire to be near us for what we are, not 
simply for what they can get from us with little trouble 
to themselves ; we are not pleased with those who usually 
fail to appreciate us. You would create beings like our- 
selves, whom you could finally lead to a higher level of 
life and conduct; beings whom you might at last take into 
a liberal partnership with yourself, like the grown-up sons 
who choose the father's occupation and join forces with 
him in business ; beings who would, after some faulty work, 
finally learn how to produce vigorous offspring, and then 
train them all into stalwart men and noble women ; in short, 
if you were like God, you would do just the same as He 
has done. 

A VISION OF THE} FUTURE. 

After wandering over the earth with the Son of God 
as my traveling companion, living among the busy people 
as He lived, and sharing their plain accommodations as 
He did, I raise my eyes and look. There is some obscur- 
ing fog near me in the valley, but yonder, on the coming 
horizon, I see no cloud of discouragement. The sky is 
clear ; and it is God's sky — and mine. The sun shines, 
giving light and life ; it is God's sun — and mine. I go to 
the summit of the mountain, over which I gazed in the 
face of the horizon, and look again. I behold a world- 
vision ; it is God's world — and mine. He is winning it 
from darkness to light for Himself — and for me. He has 
invited me to come and help Him ; I am going to do my 

88 



GOD AND MAN IN SELF-MASTERY SYSTEM 

best. I have a little money ; it is God's money — and mine. 
I will not waste it on personal luxuries ; I will deal fairly 
with my Great Partner. I have some strength and energy ; 
these are God's — and mine. I will not use them in com- 
pelling my fellow-man to carry me; I will stand upon my 
own feet, and lend some help to God's younger children. 
I have some power of love ; it is God's power — and mine. 
I will not bestow it on unworthy objects; I will learn to 
love what God loves. I have faith and hope in humanity; 
these also are God's — and mine. I am anxious to tell the 
world of the abundance and value of God's treasures, and 
how He invites all to come and enter into partnership with 
Him. I will go among the awakening youth in the schools 
and churches and enlist their interest and help in acquainting 
humanity with this knowledge and invitation. Will you 
not come too? and together we will sow the seeds of truth 
in the fertile soil of the human heart wherever man is 
found, and the coming harvest will be God's — and ours. 
In His Word you will find an urgent call to engage in this 
service. The unspoken prayers of millions of little beings, 
who have not yet learned to pronounce the words of pe- 
tition, entreat you to come and help them secure their birth- 
right. They have pressing needs, and so much good is pos- 
sible now before evil enslaves them. Come and help, and 
some day they will delight to arise and call you blessed. 
"Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of 
these My brethren, ye have done it unto Me." 



89 



CHAPTER V 
THE GREAT COMPANION AND SELF-MASTERY 

Th£ principle of companionship is inherent in every- 
thing. It is the great principle of existence that holds things 
together. Particles of matter attract each other. Plants 
and animals reproduce their kind, live in herds and flocks, 
and obey the law of companionship. God wanted the com- 
panionship of beings somewhat like Himself, and created 
man in His own image. He created man with a companion 
and life-mate. Man alone can do very little, and would 
soon cease to be ; he must have companionship. The ques- 
tion is finally reduced to this, Who or what shall be his 
companion? Shall his companionship be good or bad? 
will it help or hinder his progress? 

It is often asked why the devil leads man astray. Bad 
people lead others astray because they want companionship ; 
the devil may have the same reason. Certain it is that 
human beings will accept bad companions rather than none. 
Any institution that can furnish attractive companionship 
is sure to get some following. 

God has provided one companion great enough and 
complete enough for every human being. His Son, Jesus 
of Nazareth, meets the requirement of every age or con- 
dition in which man need be found. This same Christ is 
our Model, Teacher, and Example in all acts or thoughts 
of life. Jesus was tempted in all points like as we are. All 
He taught was simple and natural to a right life, and 
practical in the application of its spirit to the every-day 
affairs of the world. His power and knowledge are com- 
plete. He was a perfect self-master even to the extent of 
life and death. He could excel every man, but He would 
not allow Himself to do any wrong to Himself or any one. 

90 



THE GREAT COMPANION AND SELF-MASTERY 

The great difficulty in taking Him as our hero and example 
is because we have been following the wrong system. We 
have followed the system which makes that person a hero 
who can master others and subdue them, whereas the Di- 
vine Hero masters Himself, and teaches others to do the 
same. He is not in another realm, as the heathen repre- 
sent their gods to be. He was on this earth for a time as 
an actual man, and now is here a spiritual man, to help 
and guide the development of every individual in body and 
spirit. Either His life was a daily model for us, or it 
was a mockery. Had He said, "Follow Me," and then 
had advanced Himself by wronging others, or by grasping 
after wealth and power ; or had He even lived in the luxury 
of many good people of the present day, it would have been 
a mockery. It would have been asking an impossible thing 
of common humanity. The multitudes of the world could 
not follow 7 such a leader. Even in food, clothing, and per- 
sonal luxuries the daily habits of the Christ had to be such 
that the multitudes of common humanity could follow His 
example. The keeping of His commandments implied fol- 
lowing the spirit of His daily life, and included nothing 
that is impossible for the average people of to-day. He 
performed miracles to prove His divine power and authority 
to guide and save men. He said, "Greater things than these 
shall ye do," not in just the same way, but that the same 
desired ends would be reached. We are to follow His spirit 
in our eating, clothing, and all other acts. Not the same 
style of coat, nor of shoes, nor of food ; but plain and whole- 
some these should be, suited to health and convenience, and 
not for display, as is too often done at the present time. 
If we were to follow His example in the one item of simple 
food, never over-eat, nor drink harmful beverages, it would 
defer many a funeral for years. It is a greater thing to 
keep a man well than to let him get sick and then heal 
him by a word of command. It is a greater thing to keep 
a man alive and well until he is old, and then have him 

9* 



SELF-MASTERY OF MEN AND NATIONS 

die at the completion of his work, than to have him so 
careless as to die several times, and be raised to life by a 
miracle. 

THE MIRACLES OF CHRIST. 

A great deal has been written about the probability of 
miracles, and I used to be somewhat confused by these dis- 
cussions. Now, after maturer study and experience, this 
is my position. The miracles of Christ are to be expected. 
They follow as a matter of course from the fact of His 
divinity and humanity. It is not the presence of miracles 
that needs explaining; their absence would have to be ex- 
plained, and could not be. What is the great principle in 
a miracle? It is simply this: doing something that man 
could not possibly do in that time or manner. Man could 
feed five thousand people in the desert, if given time. Man 
can not raise the dead, but his business is to live according 
to God's laws, and he will then have no occasion to raise 
the dead. Christ performed no miraculous deeds just to 
make the people wonder. He as much as said His miracles 
were temporary expedients, and never to take the place of 
the regular course of events, guided as man would be able 
to guide them. 

There is not one act in the life and teaching of Christ, 
required in the Christian life, that does not have some par- 
allel in every-day life. Let us compare two events. Here 
was a multitude of people on the mountain-side, far from 
a sufficient supply of food. "How shall they be fed?" is the 
question asked. It was utterly impossible for them to feed 
themselves then and there. Christ fed them, and it was 
by a miracle. Here lies a new-born babe. He has life, 
and plenty of it ; but that is all. He is hungry, like the 
multitude, and utterly unable to feed himself here and now. 
His mother feeds him, and it is a miracle to him. It was 
as impossible for him to get his own food in a few moments 
without help, as it was for the multitude. Every child that 

92 



THE GREAT COMPANION AND SELF-MASTERY 

has the good fortune to be born in a Christian home has 
God and Christ fully represented in his own parents until 
he is able to do something for himself. He lives on miracu- 
lous acts every day until he is somewhat mature. He will 
never have any doubts about the facts of miracles if his 
parents do their duty in his instruction. 

Why load such a natural event as the principle of mir- 
acles w T ith a cumbrous definition, and then reject it? The 
theologians have done this in many instances. They have 
wrapped a cherry in a blanket, and then asked us to swal- 
low it. The simple truth of God is the cherry, and their 
definition is the blanket. There may be a little stone in the 
cherry, but it need not be eaten. It has its place and pur- 
pose, and we have sufficient intelligence to take note of 
that purpose. So of many cherry-pits in various parts of 
the Bible. I hope to remove the blanket for the children 
of the future, that they may enjoy God's cherries of plain 
and simple but attractive truths. 

Christ performed very many miracles, according to the 
gospel record ; some to prove His authority and His power, 
but far more because "He had compassion on the multi- 
tude." I have often thought, as I have wandered through 
foreign cities and seen so much want and misery, "If I had 
the power that Christ had, I w^ould perform more miracles 
than He did." Why would I perform more? Because I 
have a good deal of compassion, but not the wisdom, nor 
the judgment of the Master. Such bunglers as we are 
could not be trusted with so great power. The misery I 
saw in my extended travels can be nearly all traced to the 
misuse of power on the part of a few at the top in wealth 
and authority. As I can not relieve any of the suffering 
of the world by a miracle in the ordinary sense, I proceed 
to do it in what Christ evidently meant we should under- 
stand is a better way. This is to think of every man as my 
brother, and of his children as my near relatives ; and then 
work, be economical, waste nothing, and leave them as 

93 



SELF-MASTERY OF MEN AND NATIONS 

large an inheritance as possible. The best legacy for them 
all is an inheritance of right understanding of the world, 
and of God's way of raising them to a high degree of ex- 
cellence of life and character. 

A JOURNEY TO EMMAUS. 

Fully sixty thousand miles have I traveled over this 
earth with the conscious thought that Christ was my per- 
sonal Great Companion. It has been a journey to Emmaus 
sixty thousand miles in length. Therefore none need won- 
der that I hold some gospel truths as securely as I hold the 
fact of the sun in the sky. The sun in the sky is out of 
my sight more than half of the time. Not so that Great 
Companionship. 

I travel most of the time by miraculous means which 
I could not possibly supply without help. It takes a great 
deal of help by a host of people whom I never see. Many 
of them work by night, in the rain, down in the mine, at 
the mouth of the furnace, and in places that would be very 
unwelcome to me. Yet they toil on, and I am made com- 
fortable and sped on my way by their help. All this is 
in the nature of miracles to me. Could I fail to be grateful 
to this multitude of faithful helpers the world over? Not 
when traveling with the Great Companion. There is then 
an atmosphere of luminosity about one that makes many 
things visible that would otherwise be hidden. I once saw, 
with the help of science, the shadow of the bones of my 
own hand in the X-ray apparatus. A Great Companionship 
is an X-ray to me, so that I see in the American, the Eng- 
lishman, the German, the Italian, the Spaniard, the Mexican, 
the Asiatic, and the African the birthmarks of brotherhood. 
I see the man through the outer covering of race or nation. 

COMPANIONSHIP AND CO-OPERATION. 

There are two fundamental principles, which together 
can redeem and develop this world to its full capacity. The 

94 



THE GREAT COMPANION AND SELF-MASTERY 

first is companionship. Almost every act of life can be re- 
duced to two persons, or to halves, that must go together 
to make something complete. Two men are needed to do 
most kinds of work: a male and a female are necessary to 
reproduce their kind. Then there are the employer and the 
employee, the producer and consumer, buyer and seller, 
owner and tenant, and many other combinations. One 
alone can do very little ; but united with a suitable com- 
panion, everything possible can be accomplished. 

The other great principle is co-operation. Classify the 
whole race first into pairs of companions, and then let them 
all co-operate ; let each do his part, and try to work in har- 
mony with his other half, his complement, and the world's 
problems will be solved with surprising rapidity. First the 
man must co-operate with himself. His mind must co- 
operate with his body, his conduct with his highest interest, 
his income with his expenses, his strength with the load 
he has to carry, and his time of labor with his time of rest. 
These are a few instances of the application of the prin- 
ciple of co-operation in the individual person. Now apply 
these same cases to a company, community, ' or to any or- 
ganized group of persons, and similar results will be noted. 
The following fatal mistake has been the enemy of progress. 
Instead of working together for a common end, and with 
the avowed purpose of not only getting full justice, but also 
of securing full justice to the other side of the transaction, 
each has tried to control it for his own gain. Each has 
tried to get all he could out of it. This is a war-principle 
and a destructive method, because it results in great waste. 
The waste comes from the fact of each being careless of 
the loss that appears to fall on the other party. The one 
who has some article or labor to sell has at times said to 
himself, "The sooner that purchaser is in need again, the 
sooner I can sell him another coat, or the sooner I can get 
another job of work." This has resulted in poor wares and 
poor work. There was a loss which in the end must be 

95 



SELF-MASTERY OF MEN AND NATIONS 

borne by both parties. The remedy for such loss is co- 
operation. Each must act not only for his own interest, 
but for the interest of the other party to the transaction. 
The theory of both these principles will doubtless be con- 
ceded by most persons who give the subject a little study. 
How to apply it is the great question. I believe there is 
but one path that leads to that City of Refuge. It is this : 
Both companionship and co-operation must begin at the 
very foundation of everything. They must commence with 
God, the Creator and Maker of all things. Each must com- 
bine with Him as companion, and co-operate with Him in 
every act and purpose. Further, each must combine with 
Christ the Savior of men in the closest possible union. The 
boy who goes into partnership with his father in a well- 
established business is in the way of great gain, because 
the father's purpose is to develop the boy's talent and the 
business, and finally pass it into his possession. That is 
God's position exactly, and the one who places himself in 
this relation of companionship and co-operation with his 
Maker and Redeemer will find the transaction to his profit 
in all things and to his loss in nothing. 

One familiar instance w r ill illustrate this principle. I 
must have a watch for my use in traveling. I am dependent 
first on the maker. I must co-operate with him by buying 
the watch and paying for it. I must also co-operate with 
him in caring for it ; that is to say, I must follow his instruc- 
tions in its use and preservation; careless handling would 
soon ruin the watch. In the second place, I must enter 
the relation of companionship and co-operation with a re- 
deemer of the watch — one who can redeem it from the 
bondage of dirt in the wheels, or of a broken spring. I 
am like the watch ; I had to have a Maker, and that Maker 
is God. I get out of repair even more quickly than a watch. 
I wind my watch once in twenty-four hours, and should 
have it cleaned once a year. I require some help oftener 
than once in twenty-four hours, and I need a general over- 

96 



THE GREAT COMPANION AND SELF-MASTERY 

hauling oftener than once a year. Then, like the watch, 
I must first have a Maker, and also I must have a Mender 
or Redeemer, to redeem me from the bondage of a broken 
commandment or a broken law of my construction. 

For me to associate myself with these two, my Maker 
and my Redeemer, and fully co-operate with them, is for 
my gain in everything and my loss in nothing. As a boy 
I first was a companion with my father, and then co- 
operated with him in the work on the farm. It was to my 
profit in every way. Some of the neighbors' boys did not 
do this with their fathers. They left the work and went 
fishing, or to town, stayed out late, went into fast com- 
pany, and had a good time, as they claimed. I was not 
allowed to leave the work for fishing or for doubtful fun. 
Later they had a hard time of it, when I had the freedom 
and opportunities purchased by companionship and co- 
operation with my father. Precisely the same is true, on 
a much larger scale, in reference to my companionship and 
co-operation with God and Christ. When all enter into 
this companionship, and all co-operate with their Maker 
and their Redeemer, then they will be companionable with 
each other, and will co-operate with each other. Things 
which are equal to the same thing are equal to each other. 
Persons who are true to God are true to each other. 

THE REQUIREMENTS OF THIS GREAT COMPANIONSHIP. 

Every item of this requirement is so natural and rea- 
sonable, and has so many parallels in our daily life, that 
I could explain it to an average class of children ten years 
old so they would grasp the ideas of the principles involved. 
It can be made so plain to them that, just as they begin 
the study of arithmetic and are led on to the highest 
mathematics, they can start on the certain road to a 
right life, and be led on to an excellent manhood and 
womanhood. Some would go faster and farther than others, 
but all would be on the right road, and all would get enough 
' 97 



SELF-MASTERY OF MEN AND NATIONS 

knowledge for their own needs. Every life would be a 
successful one in some field. Each would be made a self- 
master, to the extent of not doing less than his part, nor 
taking more than his share. 

When one is to become a follower of Christ, to take Him 
as a companion, the first act is repentance and confession. 
One must be sorry for his wrongdoings and say so. Re- 
pentance is being sorry one has taken the wrong road 
through a forest, and admitting the mistake to the extent 
of changing to the right road. Confession means to ac- 
knowledge the fact fully to one's self and to God. 

CONVERSION IS ALSO REQUIRED. 

"Ye must be born again." Here is an old stove, broken, 
and of no use to its owner. This stove must be born again. 
The foundryman takes it, melts it again in the furnace, and 
pours the molten iron into the mold. He sets the parts 
together, each again reconciled to its new self, and there 
is the new stove. That stove has been converted. Do that 
with any sinner, and you have the new birth. Your sinner, 
broken and of no use to his owner, has been born again; 
he has been converted, he has become as a little child. He 
has become easily led to do right, and is willing to be taught 
his duty to God and humanity. It was a great gain for 
the old stove, as a stove, to be born again. Before, it 
was thrown out on the rubbish-heap. Now it has a place 
of service and honor. It is the same with the sinner. Be- 
fore, he was a disgrace to himself and his friends ; now 
he is an honor to both. 

Sacrifice and self-denial are commanded in the religion 
of Christ. So they are in any life. Who denies himself 
more, in the end, than the one who becomes a drunkard, 
a thief, or other criminal, and an inmate of a prison ? The 
whole difference is this. He denies himself good things 
in the beginning, and has a lot of bad things in the end. 
The follower of the Great Companion denies himself bad 

9 8 



THE GREAT COMPANION AND SELF-MASTERY 

things in the beginning, and has good things afterward. 
Now, which has the better bargain? Which way are you 
advising and teaching the children, and which way does 
your example lead those who are watching you? 

Here is a parallel. The soldier for centuries has given 
his liberty, his strength, his body to be mutilated, and his 
very life for others. Christ gave His back to the scourger, 
His side to the cruel spear, His hands and feet to the nails, 
and His life for others. What is the difference? It is 
this: The soldier gives all at the command of a superior 
authority, to keep a few persons in power over the many. 
He gives his life that the few may live in luxury, at the 
expense and labors of the many. Christ gave His life and 
all He had to make each one master of himself, honest 
and true to all, free in this life and in eternity. By the 
old method of sin every one lost much, many lost all. The 
despot lost in the end, even where he was supposed to gain 
at the time. By co-operation and companionship with 
Christ no one loses ; all gain. Every one becomes a con- 
queror, riding in his own proud chariot. No victims are 
chained to his wheels ; there are no weeping widows or or- 
phans. His enemies were all within himself, and he has 
been helped to cast them out. 

BAPTISM. 

Christ Himself sanctioned the sacrament of baptism. 
The great significance of this act is that it is a form of 
initiation into the company of Christ's followers. Water 
is used as a symbol of purity. The real meaning of this rite 
is, that one becomes obedient to Christ and accepts the 
terms and conditions of membership in His church. It 
is a simple, impressive ceremony, required in part for its 
effect on the person baptized, and also on the church which 
he thus joins. Mutual vow r s of brotherly bearing toward 
each other are taken by both the new member and the old 
ones. There is no secret mystery or charm about it; it 

99 



SELF-MASTERY OF MEN AND NATIONS 

affects the spirit, not the body. It has parallels in the 
initiations into various societies which are almost univer- 
sally required. The marriage ceremony is also similar. It 
is a public recognition of vows taken and binding on the 
two persons and the community. The married couple, as 
such, have rights that the community is bound to recog- 
nize. Neither the man nor the woman is now a subject for 
courtship by another person. 

the lord's supper. 

This sacrament was instituted by Christ Himself. In 
this service the fruit of the vine, unfermented and fresh, is 
to be used, because Christ gave His own fresh life-blood 
in sacrifice. Hence stale, spoiled grape- juice, commonly 
called wine, is out of place. The alcoholic product might 
represent the blood of a corpse, but not the blood Christ 
offered. Bread is eaten as representing the body of Christ, 
given, like the blood, for the redemption of the world. It 
is futile to claim any charm or talismanic power as existing 
in these consecrated elements. If one were to take them, 
not knowing they had been consecrated, or not believing 
in their sacredness, there could result no physical effect 
whatever. If it produced any effect for good or evil, it 
would be through the mind and the intent of the one par- 
taking of them. If he meant to show contempt for what 
other people considered sacred, his act would have to be 
judged from that standpoint solely. 

What is the meaning and application of Christ's words, 
"This is My body, and this is My blood, shed for you?" 
Plainly, that particular material was not His body nor 
His blood; it was such by representation, by symbol only. 
It was real, however, in that He did actually give His body 
and blood in sacrifice for others. It meant this for Him, 
"Before I will prove untrue to My mission, My teaching, 
and the cause for which I came into the world, I will give 
up My life; I will be faithful unto death." Now for us, 

IOO 



THE GREAT COMPANION AND SELF-MASTERY 

His followers, it means the same. I partake of the conse- 
crated elements in memory of His death as He directed. 
I drink the fruit of the vine, and eat the bread, and imply 
in my vow, "I drink the blood of Christ in symbol, but it 
is my own that I offer in reality. Rather than prove untrue 
to my Master, I will give up my life as He did." Unless 
my vow is strong enough to include my faithfulness unto 
death, it is of little worth. So those words of His are literal 
in their meaning. Not the blood of Christ is actually of- 
fered in this sacrament, but the blood of His followers, each 
offering it for himself. 

Those in power have been offering the blood of others 
in sacrifice all too long. Where is there any real sacrifice 
in that? A few years ago a desperate criminal was making 
his escape from prison. As he reached the gate he was 
seen by the guards, who immediately leveled their guns at 
him. Just then the wife of the warden was passing. The 
convict seized her and held her between himself and the 
guns as a shield, and the guards did not shoot. That was 
offering the blood of some one else in sacrifice. The same 
has been done, to the sorrow of the world, from the begin- 
ning until now. 

The soldier, the policeman, the watchman, and all who 
stand between other persons and danger are expected to 
offer their own blood in sacrifice rather than to run away 
and desert the persons or the property they are delegated 
to protect. Is there any connection or relation between 
these acts and the sacrifice of Christ? There is a very 
close relation and connection. His example would make 
every individual true to the extent of giving up his life 
rather than his integrity to God and man. It would make 
war and all crimes impossible, for if a despot were to give 
a cruel order, it would be harmless, as no one would issue 
it or carry it out. There would be no reason for stealing, 
as the needy person could borrow or have something given 
to him until he could earn it. If earning it were impossible, 

IOI 



SELF-MASTERY OF MEN AND NATIONS 

there would be enough who would gladly share with him 
so much as was needed. 

The failure of the church has been that so many would 
go to the sanctuary in all solemnity on Sunday morning 
and take the sacrament as representing the blood of another, 
and that only. After service they go to a sumptuous din- 
ner. Then they go off on some frolic or excursion, still 
sacrificing the blood of some one else by compelling the 
trainmen and many others to give up their rights to the 
Sabbath day with their families and at church. The sham 
of such a communion sacrifice will finally be rejected. Al- 
ready the world has detected this sham, and many are 
treating it with deserved contempt. The toiler is weary of 
the proud worshiper who devoutly bows his head at the 
name of Christ, but makes a mockery of His life and ex- 
ample. The conquest of the world for Christ would have 
been brief if all His followers from the first had imitated 
their Master's example in each offering his own blood and 
giving up his life rather than be untrue. A shame it is that 
so soon a few selfish leaders sought to gain the mastery 
over their brethren, rather than to sacrifice for them. 

THE PROMISE 0£ CHRIST TO REDEEM THE WORLD. 

There are those who reproach the name of Christ be- 
cause so much time has elapsed since His coming, and so 
little has been accomplished. Can any explanation of this 
delay be given? I fully believe the delay is due to the 
following reasons: 

Christ never promised to redeem the world by religion 
solely. That agency is most powerful, but not sufficient. 
Everything that contributes to man's well-being belongs to 
Christ and owes its service to the furtherance of man's re- 
demption. Religion has done much, but education, busi- 
ness, and science have failed to do their part. At times they 
have stood squarely in the way of progress, and thus defied 
and thwarted the work of religion. If, instead of doing this, 

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THE GREAT COMPANION AND SELF-MASTERY 

they had helped the true representatives of religion to rid 
her of shams and abuses, the progress of the world would 
have been greatly helped instead of being hindered. 

The best service of education, religion, business, and 
science, together with the energy and enthusiasm of their 
leaders, ought to unite in seeking to redeem the race from 
all its sins and disabilities. Christ says, "Man shall not 
live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth 
out of the mouth of God." That includes the physical and 
the spiritual life. Christ came to redeem man from all ail- 
ments of body and soul. He therefore deserves the aid of 
every possible agency in so great a task. For the slow 
progress of universal righteousness, Religion should re- 
proach itself, Education should reproach itself, Science 
should reproach itself, Business should reproach itself. 
Those who have taken no part in labors for the general 
good should reproach themselves. This would leave no one 
of those most concerned in these different lines much time 
to reproach the rest. 

All agencies for good should be fully engaged in the 
closest companionship and co-operation in this work. As 
the individual man employs his hands, his feet, his eyes, 
and his intelligence for his own good, so must the indi- 
vidual race of men employ all its powers for its own ele- 
vation. God did not make any man's hands to be at war 
with his head, neither did He make any man's business or 
his pleasures to be at war with his religion. No man can 
have one foot traveling toward heaven and the other in 
the direction of perdition. Then he can not have his re- 
ligion moving in one direction and his business or his science 
in another. 

Everything Christ did and everything He directed His 
followers to do will endure the severest scrutiny. His work 
is genuine, and all of practical use. Everything can stand 
in the strongest light and be examined for defects and 
weaknesses. There are no shams, no frauds, and no 

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SELF-MASTERY OF MEN AND NATIONS 

empty forms. If any are found, strike them off; they do 
not belong there. I can assert the genuineness of a gold 
dollar, and stand before the whole business and scientific 
world and let them examine my claim. Will it rest on my 
word ? Not all ; it will rest on the reality of the gold. 
They will simply convince themselves of its genuineness. 
I can stand before the whole business and scientific world 
on the assertion that Christ is true, and just what He said 
He was. They may test all claims as severely as they test 
the gold dollar. The perfect divinity and the perfect hu- 
manity of Jesus the Christ will remain as unscathed and 
as surely genuine as the gold coin. 

The actual facts concerning Christ are an interpreta- 
tion of Him that every honest person can accept with 
profit to himself. By honest is meant one who is willing 
to do his whole part and not take more than his share. If 
any one is aiming to ride on the shoulders of his neighbor, 
does not intend to do his own part, and is grasping for 
more than belongs to him, he will not be satisfied with 
Christ. He will find the teachings of Jesus are a hindrance 
to him, though he will not be likely to admit the real cause 
of his opposition, even to himself. 

Jesus the Christ has been grossly misunderstood even by 
many of His followers. All admit that He is good; but 
far too often He is represented as having an impractical, 
other-world goodness that is unfitted for this earth, and His 
system is regarded as having weaknesses and frailties that 
must be allowed special privileges and exemptions from 
close scrutiny. The actual facts are the opposite of this. 
Christ and His system will endure the severest tests known. 
He is the perfection of manly courage, business sagacity, 
scientific genuineness, and a masterful fitness for leadership 
in all possible beneficial movements. He is the exponent 
of true religion, true education, true business, and true 
science ; and by true I here mean that which by its proper 

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THE GREAT COMPANION AND SELF-MASTERY 

use and genuine purpose works a benefit to all persons con- 
cerned with it, and which causes injury to none of these. 

NON-RESISTANCE. 

I have been asked to explain this doctrine as applied 
to Christ. There is no such thing as non-resistance in His 
system ; it is vigorous with resistance ; it is solely a question 
as to where the resistance shall be applied. Shall I resist 
the man who wrongs me, or shall I resist my temptation 
to flog him ? Christ resisted all temptation to do wrong. He 
resisted the devil. He condemned the hypocrisy of the 
rulers, He drove the dishonest traders out of the temple, and 
He rebuked the rashness of His own disciples. He did not 
resist personal wrong to Himself with physical force, but 
He surely would not have stood calmly by and allowed some 
brute of a man to torture a child, nor are we expected to 
do so either. His teaching leads one to follow the course 
of wisdom and good common sense in such matters. 

Christ was putting out an utterly false system which 
grasped everything for one's self and paid no regard to 
the rights of others. He was putting in its place the true 
system which gives little heed for one's own personal rights, 
but would go to death rather than wrong and defraud 
others. There was such an immeasurable distance between 
the two systems that Christ, as the exponent of the new 
order, seemed weak and impractical. The leaders of the 
old system were so thoroughly fixed and steeled in its 
iniquity that they were eager to murder the one who ex- 
posed their wickedness and proved them to be false. 

In seeking His own personal rights, Christ was meek — 
He was a lamb; in defending and furthering the rights of 
others He was bold — He was a lion. His methods were 
those of honesty and justice, and not of violence; His 
teaching would not allow two neighboring families to quar- 
rel over a line-fence and a few feet of ground, nor would 

I05 



SELF-MASTERY OF MEN AND NATIONS 

it permit two nations to slaughter thousands of men in a 
dispute over some little province. He would call in the 
surveyor with his chain, for the two families, and institute 
such a degree of honesty and justice in the hearts of the 
two nations that it would matter little under which flag 
the disputed territory might be, and the question could be 
settled by peaceful arbitration or the ballot. There are 
far too many to-day who resist the man who tells them to 
be just to others and not defraud their neighbors, but they 
non-resist the ones who offer them empty forms for true 
religion, who tempt them to low-grade amusements, and 
who encourage them in personal luxury and extravagance. 
In this brief statement I have given but a glimpse of 
the Christ, but I believe it is correct; I have brought only 
a cup of water, but it is from the inexhaustible fountain, 
and my aim is to send all others to the same source for their 
supplies. Any honest seeker may lay upon the complete 
system of Christ the measuring-rod of true religion, true 
education, true business, and true science, and he may also 
apply the tests of the most consummate common sense and 
practical reason, and he will find the Christ to exceed his 
expectation at every point; he will be filled with surprise 
and admiration at the magnitude and the eminent practi- 
cality of Jesus and His teaching to men. 



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CHAPTER VI 
PRAYER AND SELF-MASTERY 

Prayer is a request to a being superior to myself in 
knowledge or power, for some benefit for myself or others 
that I can not procure unaided. Gratitude is the natural 
associate of prayer. 

The principle of prayer is inherent in the nature not 
only of man, but also in the higher forms of animal life. 
Prayer is commonly restricted to petitions and thanks to 
God, but the identical principle of asking another for some 
help or something wanted is the commonest thing in life. 
This fact must be remembered, namely : that prayer is ask- 
ing for what I can not do for myself. This is important, 
and must explain the apparently frequent denials of what 
we ask God to give. Often the thing asked for is to be 
gotten by ourselves through some means already in our 
power. All facts indicate that God desires my growth and 
development, and not to keep me a helpless infant; then 
He must put me on my mettle. Ofttimes He must throw 
me in the water and compel me to swim. We know well 
that many a man was made strong because he had to 
struggle, and thus learned his own powers. Take the best 
of us, and let us discover that by asking God we could 
get. good bread, fruit, and vegetables, and it is very little 
hoeing and baking we would do. The race would de- 
generate rapidly. For our own good, God wants us to do 
all we possibly can for ourselves and others before asking 
His help. A good parent trains his child on this plan. 

Prayer has been greatly misunderstood and, hence, 
abused. All sorts of incongruous things have been loaded 
upon it. To carry stone in a chariot or water in a sieve 

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SELF-MASTERY OF MEN AND NATIONS 

would not be more absurd than the use that is sometimes 
made of earnest prayer. The request is not granted. Some 
wonder and doubt, some weep and mourn, and some cease 
to ask God for anything. It will be noticed that they keep 
on asking their other friends for various things and all 
sorts of help. If I ever, so to speak, planted baked beans 
in my prayers, I have quit. I plant fresh raw beans, and 
then bake them myself or ask some one else to bake them. 
I believe in prayer as much as I believe in bread, water, 
or fire. It is as reasonable and scientific to pray as it is 
to eat food. My body grows by adding material ; my mind 
grows by asking questions, and then building the answer 
into itself. My body assimilates the food — it does not 
simply paste it on; and my mind assimilates the answers — 
it does not simply pile them up as a dictionary holds words. 
Many a person is to-day a loaded train of passenger cars, 
with the engine fully equipped, the boiler filled with cold 
water, and the fire-box with good coal. All he lacks is 
prayer connection and Christ as the engineer to run that 
train up to the Dakota harvest-fields of human need and 
set that train-load of people to work for God and humanity, 
with himself as their leader and example. 

SOME NEEDS AND CONDITIONS OF PRAYER. 

I need to know and recognize my limitations in order to 
be persuaded to seek help in doing more than I could do 
alone. 

I must know and believe in my possible development; 
that is, that God only gave me a start, and I am to take 
over this developing work into my own hands as rapidly 
as possible. I am not like the bee, born with knowledge 
enough to carry me through my course of life. I am created 
very incomplete. I am given powers and desires so great 
that I can not manage them alone. I must have help from 
my fellows ; but that is not enough : help is needed that only 
God can give. To manage my powers and desires I need 

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PRAYER AND SELF-MASTERY 

the example of other men, who excel me. I need the ex- 
ample, the help, and companionship of the Divine One, who 
lived as a man and proved what a self-mastered man can 
do. I need to see fellow-beings like myself struggling, los- 
ing, gaining, and finally victorious. I ask, "Pray, tell me 
how you did that?" They answer, "I asked the Lord, and 
He helped me." I see my fellow-men dependent on one 
another, helping each other where needed, checking each 
other in time of danger, spurring and pushing each other 
on as need may require, and thus progress is made. 

Study the methods of a good, sensible parent in training 
his child, and you will learn much of the relation of man 
to God. Children ask a great many foolish questions, and 
are told to read, to notice, to think, and not ask so many 
questions. More and more we can help ourselves and 
others. As the child outgrows the need of its parent's help, 
and later becomes a parent, so can we outgrow some needs 
and become a supply to others. Older children care for 
younger ones, and thus relieve the parent of little things. 
There is crying need that we should do the same with our 
Heavenly Parent. 

God is not trying to withhold any secrets from man that 
man can be trusted with. The banker does not give the 
new clerk the keys to the vaults the first day. This same 
clerk may become a trusted partner later. 

That is what God is trying to make of you and me. 
We must, however, believe in Him and ask help in learning 
His methods, just as the new bank-helper must do. 

Let me here give some of my own experiences in travel, 
as this is a better test than when one is at home, moving 
in an ordinary groove. 

In Madrid, Spain, I hunted all day and did not find 
the room I wanted, but near night I found one that we 
accepted. As usual, we both prayed to God for direction 
and for guidance in finding a room. How do I explain the 
apparent failure? God would neither move any one else 

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SELF-MASTERY OF MEN AND NATIONS 

out nor build a house for us. I had no right to expect bet- 
ter quarters than the average busy people of Madrid have. 
Again, I wanted to know how the common people must 
live. I was there for that purpose. The trouble is that 
too many of the ruling classes in Spain have been selfish 
and have not cared how the common people live. Any 
day may be seen crowds of fine carriages and automobiles 
filling the wide boulevards in Madrid. They seem to be 
out to amuse themselves by the display of the evidence of 
wealth in their elegant clothes and costly trappings. I 
visited many churches, and was pained to see the lavish 
way in which money has been expended even there to 
gratify the love of display. The people are far too igno- 
rant and too crowded in their houses. I know it better 
after being among them. We had only a small room, but 
the people were friendly and obliging, and we saw much 
of their daily lives. God answered my larger prayer to 
know my neighbors better. The common people of Spain 
are kind, considerate, and worthy, and I shall always count 
them among my friends and neighbors. 

PRAYER IS SCIENTIFIC. 

Prayer is scientific. My finite mind asks the great In- 
finite Mind to change me in some respect. This is entirely 
natural and reasonable. A wife asks the great heart of 
God to change the heart of her husband so he will love his 
family more and the grog-shop less. God sometimes does 
this. I should say, however, that that is a case for the 
men of the community to deal with; they ought to close 
all such places. 

Again, did she know or did her parents know that the 
man drank before her marriage? are items of importance. 
We must not run heedlessly into danger, and then expect 
God to help us out. 

It is claimed that prayer and its answers are mysterious. 
God does not try to make it so ; as represented in the Bible 

no 



PRAYER AND SELF-MASTERY 

it is very simple. As a child goes to its parent for help, so 
we go to God. Heathen priests try to involve prayer in 
great mystery, but that seems to be done to hold the people 
in their control. Prayer means that I recognize the fact 
that there is a higher and better being than I am; that 
there are fellow-beings more advanced than I am ; that there 
is a better self possible for me than I now have, and that I 
care enough for this better self to admit my defects and 
ask aid in mending my ways. 

If I wish to find a room in a strange city, and a boy 
can tell me, I ask him. If I wish to know the distance to 
the moon, and an astronomer can tell me, I ask him. I 
want to know the way to heaven, and God can tell me, and 
I ask Him. I hear that Christ will help me be a man and 
begin my heaven here, and I ask Him. I thank all these, 
return their favors if I can, or pass them on to others. If 
I wrong any of these I am glad to ask their pardon. Now, 
this is religion. It is scientific; it is sensible and reason- 
able. It keeps me at peace with God, with my neighbors, 
and with myself. 

A carpenter builds me a house. I live in it, and after 
awhile it gets out of repair. Floors, windows, and other 
parts need attention. He comes and says, "Let me put 
your house in order." Shall I say, "No; this house is all 
right as it is?" I do not say that; I let him renew what 
is worn out, and he comes and puts everything in order. 
That house has now been converted; old things have be- 
come new. Christ tells me my heart or soul or self — call 
it what you will — is out of harmony and out of repair; I 
am not filling a man's place as I ought. He says, "Let 
Me set you right with yourself, your neighbors, and your 
Maker." I answer, "Yes, please do ; I had grown careless ; 
I am not satisfied with myself in this way." His help 
changes me; I become a new man; I am converted. That 
is a scientific act in both cases. 

Repentance is a part of prayer. I took the wrong road ; 

in 



SELF-MASTERY OF MEN AND NATIONS 

I am sorry ; I will go back and take the right one. I have 
taken the wrong hat — my neighbor's instead of my own; 
I will go and correct the mistake. In my haste and while 
excited I abused my brother man ; I am sorry ; I will go 
and tell him so, and ask forgiveness. I have not appre- 
ciated my Maker's gifts to me, and I have disobeyed His 
laws ; I see my fault ; I will tell Him so, and ask His for- 
giveness. Then I will ask Him so to strengthen my sense 
of wrongdoing that I shall not repeat these acts. These 
cases are all parallel ; they are sensible, scientific, and only 
what any person would expect to do if well-bred, concern- 
ing his neighbor. Any man who will pay out a five-dollar 
gold-piece, thinking it is a new cent-piece, and then will 
correct his mistake and take it back, and be sorry he made 
the mistake, and vow not to do it again, has acknowledged 
the principle of repentance in all its bearings. The wrong 
act of paying out the gold-piece for the cent is very evident. 
If he takes five dollars from his neighbor wrongfully, he 
makes a bigger mistake than in the case of the cent-piece, 
and the result will be more serious. It will finally make 
him a thief and robber, and may put him in prison. Re- 
pentance is a very common principle and absolutely neces- 
sary in the ordinary affairs of life. Why draw the line 
between ourselves and God? 

When I was leaving Foo Chow, China, I had to go to 
the boat before daylight in the morning. The way led 
through a winding course between high buildings, under 
arches, along narrow passages, where it would be impos- 
sible to find the right way without a guide. My friends 
provided me with one — a Chinaman, who spoke only a word 
or two of English. I must have help to find the way; I 
asked for it and got it; I paid the man and thanked him. 
He did not simply tell me, he went with me as companion 
and showed me the way. The child can not grow up with 
bad example and bad surroundings and be expected to find 
the way to a good life and heaven. He must have a guide 

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PRAYER AND SELF-MASTERY 

and a companion whom he trusts and follows. Christ is 
that guide, companion, and friend for every child of earth. 
What good reason can any person give himself for refusing 
to come and get acquainted with Him and test His services 
and help ? I can not pay the Divine Guide for His services 
as I do another man. I have so little, and He has so much. 
I can pay in this way, and this is what He wants ; He wants 
my love and my loyalty to Him; He wants me to become 
trustworthy and tell others of Him. I can pass the favor 
along, and diminish human wrong and sin; and that I will 
do. Will you not help also? You would if there were a 
fire and your help were needed. Any neighbor would come 
to you in entire confidence, and you would go and help. 
Why will you not even more willingly give your help to 
save your neighbor's children from peril than his house 
from fire? 

The office and use of prayer is also to bring the spirit 
into touch with its Creator and make it more like Him. It 
is to get more of His power and capacity, and with these 
to develop and master self and the circumstances about one. 
The child, by obedience to the instruction and example of 
his teacher, outgrows the need of an instructor. Shall we 
outgrow the need of so much help from God? Certainly. 
Christ said, "Greater works than these shall ye do." It 
is a greater thing to live above need of help than it is to 
have a permit from the poor commissioner to get groceries 
at the expense of the town. Better live without stealing 
than to have to repent for theft. After the prodigal re- 
turned, there was no reason for his going back to his old 
job with the swine. 

divine; heaung. 

Many believe in prayer to God for healing from sickness. 

That is my firm belief, but this method is temporary. We 

call it divine healing, and such it is. The greatest instance 

of divine healing I have ever seen or heard of is the banish- 

* 113 



SELF-MASTERY OF MEN AND NATIONS 

ing of yellow fever from the Panama Canal zone. It will 
be claimed that was done by science. Certainly ; but all 
the materials used and all the talent employed were from 
God. Mitaculous healing was not used as a permanent 
remedy. Christ never performed any "stunts" to surprise 
the people ; neither did He give to priests or others any such 
power, to astonish the crowd. His teaching goes to show 
that we are to use all His gifts to some account. We are 
not to step into the same mud-hole repeatedly, but to repair 
the road ; that is, to stamp out disease. It is well established 
that the mind affects the health of the body. Now, a mind 
that has come into companionship with Christ and has be- 
come strong, can by that gain better resist disease. Jesus 
slept during the storm. So can you and I if we have suf- 
ficient mastery of ourselves. There is no teacher in this 
like the greatest of all teachers, Christ Himself, who went 
so far as to be master even of life and death. That is be- 
yond us. We could not yet be trusted with that power ; 
we might be tempted to start a show-business. Great sums 
of money are gathered by spectacular means in some parts 
of the world where I have been. Various miracles are said 
to be performed — with a cash attachment. 

I keep my health in part by prayer. In answer to my 
prayer to God I receive strength to stop eating in time, 
and leave out a great many things not best to eat. That 
is far better and greater than healing by any means known. 
Under the example and guidance of Christ the spirit will 
discipline and train the body, and the two working together 
will be proof against ordinary disease. An armored vessel 
fears only the extraordinary enemy, such as torpedoes or 
mines ; small shot do no harm to thirteen-inch armor-plate. 

"Give us this day our daily bread" did not imply that it 
be cut and buttered. A brush-covered field and energy, 
seed and harvest, the threshing, the mill, the bakery — and 
it is done. Oh, what a joy to do things for one's self! I 
do like to be independent. I find it very hard to be patient 

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PRAYER AND SELF-MASTERY 

in sickness — now twenty years since my last experience — 
because I prefer to wait on myself, and I like my freedom. 
Self-mastery gives me freedom from evils, and Christ helps 
me to self-mastery. It is both scientific and it pays ; I rec- 
ommend it strongly. 

One can not commune with God and Christ in prayer 
without being stirred into a desire to grow like them. Let 
boys read about bandit heroes, and they are led into crimes 
like theirs. Let them read of true heroes, and they want 
to start out and follow these. Boys and girls can be easily 
led to take good models for heroes if they are properly 
taught. At present there are too many influences on the 
wrong side. Too many follow the low types heralded with 
wood cuts and big headlines in the papers of the day. 

When a man begins to pray, he does not by that become 
a young bird with open mouth waiting to be fed. Rather 
he becomes a parent bird, using his wings to gather food 
for others, or material for a family nest. 

Shall we ever outgrow the need of spiritual food by 
prayer? The body does not outgrow the need of material 
food while it lives, not until it dies. Hence we can infer 
that so long as the spirit lives it will need and will surely 
wish to keep in close touch with the Eternal Spirit. 

Notes from my diary at Florence : 

"I am sure God knows I am in no danger of becoming 
too strong and independent, like some rebellious province 
of a kingdom, if I am only honest and can be trusted ; that 
is, so long as I do not less than my part, nor take more 
than my share. God could trust His own Son with all power 
in heaven and on earth. It will pay me to be honest, and 
thus gain all the liberty God can give. If I ask unselfishly, 
I am told to ask in faith. You have seen a child come 
timidly to ask the parent for something the child knew 
should not be granted. We do the same with God. 

"It seems absurd that any man should not employ every 
known agency in the development of his spirit as readily 

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SELF-MASTERY OF MEN AND NATIONS 

as he uses new conveniences for his body. Prejudice and 
tradition should have no more weight in training and con- 
trolling a spirit than in the mode of travel across the country. 
A pope or a bishop should be as ready to change his methods 
in spiritual matters and church work as he is to change 
from riding a donkey to the railway or tram. The man 
who boasts that his religion has not changed in fifteen hun- 
dred years should live in other things in the manner of 
those early times. When one sees how the clericals in these 
countries adopt new ideas for bodily convenience, but refuse 
to grow spiritually, it is not surprising that they are losing 
the respect of intelligent people." 

WE DO NOT OUTGROW PRAYER. 

The young child has at first to ask for everything, later 
for less and less, and finally he provides for himself and 
others; but he never outgrows the need of gratitude for 
favors. My father has been dead over forty years. While 
it is long since he did anything for me, the value of his 
example and counsel grows on me. My feeling of grati- 
tude to him for giving me a good chance from the begin- 
ning, increases from year to year. I can never outgrow 
these. This increasing gratitude is a part of my growth. 
I can not even outgrow the need of God's help in feeding 
myself. He supplies the raw material of soil, sunshine, and 
rain, though He does not plow and hoe my fields — I prefer 
to do that myself. My parents gave me the teaching and 
early light to see that life is happier in every way to him 
who helps himself. Later, as I knew God better, I saw 
that service to others is the law of God that makes Him 
great and wonderful. A god that did nothing for others 
would be a very small, useless thing — a human being like- 
wise. If I can become more useful, I shall be greater. 
Thus I shall never outgrow the need or, more correctly ex- 
pressed, the privilege of prayer. Even the suggestion of 
giving up prayer is absurd to me, though many seem to 

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PRAYER AND SELF-MASTERY 

boast themselves as being above asking God for anything, 
as if they had lived past that point. I shall come to the 
place where I shall not need to ask for any more food 
or clothing from this world. I shall even give up the ma- 
terial of this body — lent to me so kindly for a time. It 
will then become common property for the first plant that 
sends out its rootlets to weave into some new mysterious 
life what had served me so well in mine. I expect to be 
then where I can say more directly: "Lord, I thank Thee 
for that one hundred and fifty pounds of earth, marvelously 
built into a human habitation for my more wonderful spirit 
for so many years. Thou didst keep me when a helpless 
infant, and didst bring me to maturity. Thou didst take 
me into Thy divine partnership in the care of my body 
and spirit. Thou didst help me gain the battle with my 
own selfishness, and didst open the great world-vision to 
my view." 

It is not the province of prayer to entreat a pure being 
to take a vile beggar into his parlor ; but prayer may well 
ask for a dish of water, that he may wash himself. If he 
will not do what he can for himself, he lacks the spirit that 
could expect help from God or that could fit him for divine 
company. 

I arrived in Lisbon, Portugal, at two o'clock in the 
morning. I had not planned it that way, but found I must 
go on at night, as there was no other train. There were 
hotel agents enough for high-priced places, but I was travel- 
ing at moderate cost. I knew no Portuguese, but one agent, 
who spoke Spanish, offered me a room at a reasonable price, 
and I went with him. "It is just a little way," he said; but 
I found it quite a long way. The people had retired ; but 
finally he got them up to open the door, and I saw my room. 
It was on a wee bit of a court, where the sun did not come, 
but the chickens did. They were not such bad neighbors, 
since they spoke the language I had heard them use in my 
far-away boyhood home. The next day I hunted for a 

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SELF-MASTERY OF MEN AND NATIONS 

better room, but not knowing the language, I could not 
make a thorough inquiry, and finding the prices too high, 
I remained where I was. The hotel people were plain and 
friendly, and they treated me honorably. I have only kindly 
memories of the Portuguese people as I met them in their 
country. It is the ruling classes that have been unfair in 
that land. But how about the answer to my prayer in find- 
ing a room? It is very simple. If such beds as I want are 
full, I am not to expect God to get some one out and let 
me have his place. He may help me get a place on the 
floor, as we did in my boyhood when we had company. He 
will help me be content with what is available. If I have 
been properly trained in self-mastery, I shall get along as 
well as the soldier, the sailor, and thousands of other worthy 
people. Prayer teaches one to be reasonable, unselfish, and 
sensible. 

UNANSWERED PRAYER. 

How about deformed children, persons in great distress 
and poverty — will God help them in answer to prayer? If 
He is to blame, or if that is the best way, I think He will. 
But the question is, Who is to blame? God will let a child 
put his finger on a hot stove twice if he wants to. The 
hot stove is doing its work and can not stop. The child will 
soon learn better ; but if still too young, some one else must 
learn for him. God can not be expected to send an angel 
to choke off every well-fed person when he has eaten enough, 
and thus protect his health. Would you want to be the 
angel to do such work as that? How long since the first 
warnings were given against wine and gluttony? Yet men 
continue both, and their results follow. Many ask help 
from God and the doctors after the penalty begins. In 
cases of this kind the following is the element of prayer that 
is needed, "I repent of my sins and stop committing them, 
whether directly against God, my neighbor, or myself — 
soul or body." Not more faith, perhaps, but faith applied 

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PRAYER AND SELF-MASTERY 

in a different way is what is needed — a faith that uses all 
available helps now, and asks God's aid for anything He 
can do further. He may indicate the next step, but may 
not pick me up and carry me. 

Many little things go to confirm my belief and practice 
in prayer in every-day affairs. All through the thousands 
of miles of travel and study I have lived in a prayerful 
spirit. That means this: I never assume that I know all, 
and can learn nothing more on any topic. Just the opposite 
is true: I do not know it all, but I know enough to learn 
more. I know God and my fellow-men are ever willing to 
help me if I ask them in the right way, in friendly con- 
fidence, politeness, and faith. Thus I get help everywhere 
and all along the way. 

Prayer is so simple, so natural, and so practical when 
properly understood and after the right habit has been es- 
tablished that it is much like the breathing of a healthy 
child, which goes on without thought unless some hindrance 
occurs like a cloud of dust or smoke. I ask so many small 
and great favors of God and man as I travel that prayer 
in action becomes very much like the lungs in action. Per- 
haps more like the digestive system, that labors whenever 
there is work to do, and is ever ready for service. I be- 
lieve in prayer and use it as surely as I believe in shops, 
boats, and railways, and use them. All are necessary to me, 
and I do not need to grade them and say which is the most 
important; doubtless each becomes the most important at 
the time of its particular need. When I need what God 
only can give, I ask Him for it; when what only the rail- 
way agent can furnish, I go to him with my petition, and 
the same with the grocer and others. In each case it is 
my inexcusable duty to render whatever is due in return. 
To God it is thanks and service, making good use of His 
gifts ; to the ticket agent it is cash and a courteous, brotherly 
bearing; and the grocer — the Golden Rule applies here — I 
must not require him to deliver some trifle that I can just 

119 



SELF-MASTERY OF MEN AND NATIONS 

as well carry home with me. My honest confession is this : 
The more common sense, knowledge, science, and business 
methods I use in my daily affairs, the less cause there is 
for troubling God or men for special favors. In all the 
ages I shall never become so capable as to outgrow the 
realm of please and thank you. I shall always have to ask 
God and my fellow-men for companionship, and for help 
to attain graces in which they are richer than I, and for 
these I certainly shall be glad to give credit. Who is the 
man who will not pray? He is the man who refuses to 
say please and thank you to God and his fellow-men. I 
would not want God and my neighbors to think me such 
a man as that. I am sure a feeling of insupportable loneli- 
ness would come over me if I believed they thought thus 
of me. That moment shall never come. 

London, August 2d. — I spent an hour in prayer yester- 
day morning, seeking the best way to Boston, and as I was 
unable to reach that place without the aid of a steamship 
company, I went to their representative, asked politely and 
in faith for information and help. Faith and works are 
necessary. I must watch, and ask again and again. In 
religious matters we say, "watch and pray;" but I fail to 
see any difference, either in theory or practice, between re- 
ligious matters and other things. Down on the Central 
American coast I watched for the steamer, then waited 
several days for the handling of cargo before the boat 
started on. The same happens in the Christian life. Was 
money needed for my passage ? Certainly, or service ; some- 
times they let a poor fellow work his passage. Christ does 
the same. I do not see how either can use a shirk. The 
same rules apply in going to Boston as to heaven ; it matters 
not whether that heaven be here and now or one hundred 
years hence. Surely my neighbors will never say I was too 
respectful to my Maker, and God will never say I was too 
polite to my neighbors. Both will more likely say he was 
too anxious to get his own rights. 

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PRAYER AND SELF-MASTERY 

In a certain part of England unusual rain was spoiling 
the hay, so it could not be cared for at all. Prayers were 
offered in the churches for dry weather to save the hay. 
This answer might well be sent, "Stop spoiling barley and 
other grain in making beer, porter, and whisky, and save 
them to feed the stock.' ' Their common sense ought to 
tell them as much as that. Only by this principle am I able 
to travel wherever I wish. If it works well for a grown-up 
farmer boy, it ought to work for bishops and members of 
Parliament. 

There was a serious strike of the London dockers, and 
a strike-leader addressed great crowds of men and had 
them repeat a prayer for the death of a certain government 
official whom they regarded as standing in their way. My 
suggestion and my practice is, "Pray for the death of the 
desire for drink, tobacco, and gambling, and save that money 
for food/' These are genuine enemies of the men, and far 
too numerous, as I saw myself in studying the situation. 
There is a serious question as to that official being the enemy 
of those men. Better strike the enemy in an arm's length 
of you with his hand in your pocket, than to try to hit the 
one a mile away. 

Here is a practical illustration of the field of prayer and 
its limitations. I asked a banker for money on my letter 
of credit. I asked in faith, and at first he was going to 
grant it. Then he noticed that the letter was limited to 
June 14th, and it was now August 17th. He asked instruc- 
tions from the central bank, and they told me to come in 
person to them, I did so, praying that the technicality 
might be waived in my favor, as the letter provided for an 
extension of time on request of the owner. I was anxious, 
as there was no time to lose before the steamer should sail 
from Southampton. My prayer was not granted, but the 
banker said he would write to the issuing bank in Leipzig, 
Germany, and have a reply sent by cable. I feared there 
would not be time for that. Then said he, "I will send a tele- 

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SELF-MASTERY OF MEN AND NATIONS 

gram for reply at your expense.'' This I paid. I had done 
what I thought was my whole duty, but that was not enough. 
It was plainly written in the letter of credit that it expired 
one year from date. The banker paid one draft without 
noticing it, and I had forgotten the limitation. The banks 
kept their contract, but did not grant a special request from 
me. This illustrates prayer to God. We know the con- 
ditions of being heard. If we neglect to keep ourselves in- 
formed and in line with His laws, He can not be expected 
to encourage our carelessness by continued special acts and 
favors. "I did not know" could often be answered by 
"You might have known, for it was plainly written in the 
contract." On Monday I went to the bank, found the an- 
swer had arrived, and the time of the letter had been ex- 
tended. I thanked God and the banker, drew my money, 
and hastened to the office and bought my steamer-tickets 
to Boston. Now note these facts: There is no line of de- 
markation to be drawn between the faithfulness of God and 
that of the banks. They are all part of His great system 
for man. All rights are sacred — my own and those of the 
banker, the mutual courtesy and confidence due to each, 
and the gratitude and brotherly love due to all. 

The churches and others have made a bad blunder 
trying to divide life into sacred and secular. No such di- 
vision will work. In business each has sacred rights, and 
God has a sacred right to man's integrity. Religion comes 
into business to require that man should be courteous, kind, 
obliging to a friend or stranger ; but he must be honest with 
his employer, and not endanger the integrity of the bank 
to its other customers. Many a bank has failed by granting 
the importunate prayers of men who asked special favors 
of them. God can not run His Kingdom by rules so bad 
as to break a bank. The only fault is in not recognizing 
God and His gifts in all our affairs, and in not applying 
our knowledge to all life's business. How did I get what 
I wanted — my money, and tickets for the ship, and relief 

122 



PRAYER AND SELF-MASTERY 

from worry while waiting? The agencies employed were 
these : Prayer to God and men through religion ; business 
through the banks ; and science and business combined in 
the telegraph and cable. Here we have all the great agencies 
man uses and must use so mingled together that they can 
not possibly be separated, and education teaches us how to 
apply them. The scientist and business men ought to be 
the most faithful in religion, because their mistakes can be 
most easily seen. A German adage says, "The doctor covers 
up his mistakes with dirt." The banker can not bury the 
blunder of paying a forged check so easily. 

A complex prayer was once answered when I wrote 
for more money. The government, the mail clerks, and 
postoffice employees helped answer that prayer. All of 
them worked with God's material and the talents He gave 
to men. I received the money, and I thanked God and all the 
persons who helped me get it. I find this spirit of grati- 
tude to all who have helped me, to be of untold value in my 
personal happiness. Gratitude is a comfortable feeling to 
me. Traveling so much puts me under obligation to a mul- 
titude of people the world over ; so I have a comfortable 
feeling toward the whole world. Now, I learned this from 
my Great Companion through the agencies of a Christian 
home, the Church, and the Bible. I utterly fail to under- 
stand the man who does not find a pleasure in recognizing 
these helps and using them. Therein Hes the whole essence 
of prayer. 

When I went to Madison to engage a house to occupy 
while preparing this work for publication, I did not find 
what suited me. I prayed and studied over it, discussed 
it with my wife, and worried a little in the night. Finally 
I decided to call up the agent the next morning by tele- 
phone and take the best of several choices. Again the 
science and the business of the telephone helped me. Where 
did God come into this transaction? In both the business 
and the science employed, and in helping me to be content 

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SELF-MASTERY OF MEN AND NATIONS 

with what I could get and make the best use of it. Per- 
haps He knew some reason why this was the best place 
for me to do my work. I strongly incline to that belief 
after a good many years' dealing with God in all sorts of 
emergencies. You would trust an old friend after years 
of proof, would you not? I would, for I want my friends 
to trust me. The telephone ought to teach men to pray 
to God. Here they talk to persons whom they can not see. 
You say they hear an audible voice ? A multitude of credible 
witnesses say their spirit hears a spirit-voice answer when 
they talk to God. I will stake more on some of my spiritual 
impressions than on my physical, for I have been deceived 
by both my ears and my eyes. 

I do not make prayer too commonplace. My aim is to 
show that it is as common as asking favors of each other 
and as reasonable. The great activities of life can all be 
ranged under the departments of Education, Religion, Busi- 
ness, and Science. Prayer is a faithful messenger train that 
stops at all these stations, for the convenience and necessi- 
ties of travelers. When the true province of prayer is once 
recognized and understood, I believe the last reasonable 
objection to it will vanish like night before the morning sun. 



124 



CHAPTER VII 
THE NATION AND SELF-MASTERY 

The: nation consists of the whole people working as an 
individual or unit for its own highest welfare. 

The nation itself, as an individual among other nations, 
must be intelligent, capable, honest, and free. 

The first aim of the nation should be to see that every 
child born within its borders becomes a self-master as early 
as possible; to see that each one is able to police himself, 
to support himself, and to pension himself. 

The first duty of the nation is to safeguard all that goes 
into its make-up, and to care for the individual units which 
compose it. 

These are : 

The individual man and woman. 

The individual family and home in which these two live 
and train their children — the future citizens. 

Any organized group of persons within the State be- 
comes a unit or individual, and as such is subject to all 
the requirements imposed upon the individual citizen. The 
churches, political parties, societies (secret or open), labor 
unions, or other organizations become units in the make-up 
of the nation. i\s the central intelligence of the man must 
supervise and control all that becomes a part of himself, 
so must the nation supervise and control all its own mem- 
bers and ingredients which enter into its make-up ; only thus 
can it become free and self-mastered. 

THF, RIGHTS OF THE) UNBORN. 

For thousands of years the world has looked to its kings 
and rulers for improvement. These have had their say 
and their way, and they have failed. Now we must face 

*25 



SELF-MASTERY OF MEN AND NATIONS 

about and look in another direction. We must look to the 
child; he is king; his needs must be obeyed first. 

It should be the determined aim of every generation to 
transmit to its successor all its virtues and none of its bad 
debts and vices. I do not see how one can commit a crime 
reaching further in its effects than to become the father 
of an illegitimate child, and then to desert its mother and 
leave his own child a burden to her or to grow up by chance. 
The young woman will have the double task of caring for 
the child alone and of bearing the shame of being mother 
but not wife. Yet there are so-called human beings who 
will joke about such a crime. There are too many others 
who will receive the father of a bastard into good company, 
and cast off the child's mother. Society, we ourselves, have 
a grave responsibility in cases of this nature. The nation 
needs to master itself to the extent of allowing such a man 
to become the father of no more children. Science knows 
how to do that, and if there be any sentiment of mercy, it 
is due to the innocent unborn. Such a man has forever for- 
feited the right of parenthood. If he was misled by others 
so far as to become a father, let him become the husband 
of the child's mother and make the best of it, and his child 
will then have some chance in the world. I can very well 
imagine a child who had been deserted by his father coming 
to his mother and saying, "Other boys have a father to sup- 
port them; where is mine? ,, Then the awful revelation 
would have to be made that his father had betrayed his 
mother, left her in disgrace, and sneaked off, a contemptible 
coward. What made him so mean? How did he become 
so low and despicable? Who is to blame for such villains? 
These are questions for the nation to ask itself, and then 
follow that beast of a man backward to his den and see 
where he lives, learn who taught him bad morals, and who 
failed to teach him better ways. 

The church, society, science, and business all have to 
share the blame. It is now time for each of these to shake 

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THE NATION AND SELF-MASTERY 

itself free from the reproach of the past, and to do its duty 
in the future. Money is made out of prostitution; science 
helps cover up the crime, and one great branch of the 
church forbids its priests to marry, though it is often 
lenient with those of them who become fathers. Society 
keeps men and women in close bodily embrace at midnight 
hours, to dreamy music, after being surfeited with sump- 
tuous food and drink. These same society people demand 
that the ministers in the churches shall keep silence on this 
shameful sin against God and against the home and parent- 
hood. They have the audacity to bring pressure to bear 
upon the pulpit to have their vices condoned, and even com- 
mended. The influences and paths which lead to the crime 
of bringing illegitimate children into the world are many. 
Anything that leads to a low-grade life tends that way, 
especially whatever feeds the tiger nature of the animal in 
man. Such pleasures are bought at an aw r ful price to many 
men and women, but the worst falls on the blameless and 
helpless children. 

Florence, Italy, April 23d. 
"The State must protect itself from bad citizens. This 
is done now in part by prisons and reformatories, which is 
a very defective, enormously expensive, and fatally wrong 
principle. No one tries to straighten a tree after it is a 
foot thick; the straightening is done when it is small. So 
must the State do with the character of its citizens. The 
State must protect its unborn children from a bad parentage. 
If the parents are so deficient in intelligence and principle 
as not to care, then the State must act. Any person has a 
right to curse the intelligence and power that allowed the 
unfit to bring him into this world crippled by disease or 
moral taint. The past has some excuse, but the future will 
have none. To-day it is known that certain ones are totally 
unfit for parentage. Drunkards, criminals, gamblers, beg- 
gars, and persons destitute of moral character are plainly 

127 



SELF-MASTERY OF MEN AND NATIONS 

unfit ; they leave indelible taints upon their children. Let 
us deal with these first. We who possess the intelligence 
and power of control are under obligations to prepare the 
unborn to keep the commandment which requires children 
to honor their father and mother. By this principle only 
those who are worthy are fit for parentage, and no nation 
can prosper unless it has many parents worthy of honor. 
Every defect reflects dishonor somewhere. Men have been 
blaming God or nature or something outside of themselves. 
This is cowardly, since we know that God has given us 
great power of control over our own futures. The farmer 
controls the breeding, the feeding, and the general life of 
his stock for their good. We can do as much for posterity 
if we will." 

DUTY OF THE NATION. 

The great work of the nation is to safeguard the birth 
and early development of each individual citizen. The 
strength of the nation depends on the strength of all its 
individuals. The nation that was composed of a few great 
barons and a mass of serfs was neither great nor strong. 
The nation that is composed of a number of millionaire 
merchants and manufacturers, and a multitude of depend- 
ents and pensioners, is neither a great nor a strong nation. 
When each individual is strong and able to maintain his 
individual rights against the foes within himself, the nation 
need have no fear as to its ability to maintain itself against 
any foes either within or without its borders. 

The weakness of the Central American governments has 
been the weakness of the individual citizen. The people 
have been taught to follow a leader, instead of being taught 
to follow their own good sense and judgment. When some 
aspirant for office, with little regard for the rights of others, 
goes out and makes great promises to the ignorant, poorly- 
fed populace, they follow him to battle and to death. The 
citizens who have been trained to police themselves will be 

128 



THE NATION AND SELF-MASTERY 

much happier, more contented, and will relieve the nation 
of a great care and an enormous expense. 

When people have earned and saved enough to pension 
themselves, this sum will furnish a vast capital, which young 
men may borrow at reasonable interest, and thus the world 
can go on improving itself indefinitely. The present rather 
rapidly-growing pension-system may do for a ferry to allow 
a hurrying caravan to cross the stream; but once on the 
other side of this emergency, the far better method will be 
for each to pension himself. Of two men, twenty-five years 
from now — the one a self-pensioner and the other having 
a pension from some company or the government — the one 
who has pensioned himself will hold his head a little higher 
and feel a larger measure of satisfaction with life in general. 
Those who are recognized as self-made men are rarely 
ashamed of the job. There is an element in every man's 
nature that likes to be free and independent of others. If 
the hope of independence through self-pensioning were 
held up before the children with proper instruction as to 
its benefits, and safe investments were assured them, what 
bushels of pennies and dimes would be treasured up for 
future use, instead of being worse than wasted for trifles 
that fix the habit of wasting! 

People use money wisely or foolishly as they are taught. 
As in other things, some are more apt that others, but all 
can learn enough to care for themselves without a guardian. 
Bad instruction is given by dealers crowding their wares 
on to children and older ones. Slot-machines for selling 
sweets, and pop-corn stands on the corners are a nuisance 
by teaching children to spend money. If these were re- 
placed by machines for selling savings-bank stamps, as is 
done in Germany, it would be a vast gain. Americans could 
well learn valuable lessons in matters of table economy from 
the Europeans when they first come to this country. They 
are strong and hearty, which proves a sufficiency of food; 
but they live far more simply. Unfortunately, after they 
• 129 



SELF-MASTERY OF MEN AND NATIONS 

have become prosperous, most of them learn the foolish 
ways of Americans and overload their tables. If we set 
only plain, wholesome food before our children, and teach 
them to study themselves and master their own tastes and 
appetites, we do better than leave them rich : we leave them 
strong and independent enough to take care of themselves. 
Man is made to have most of his pleasures in the realm 
of the spirit, and not of the body. To me the conscious- 
ness of mastery over my own tastes and appetites is an 
almost constant pleasure, by the privilege it gives in the 
larger field of freedom from pain, and the liberty of buying 
what I prize much more highly. If everybody owned a 
home, and all the prisons were turned into factories ; if 
poor-houses were not needed, and war a thing no longer 
feared, I could increase my luxuries without increasing my 
expenses ; for without these terrible drains on the world, 
living would be so cheap that all might enjoy a plenty with 
moderate labor. Is not such a mastering aim worth more 
than big dinners, luxurious railway and steamer travel, and 
all the other superfluous appendages of life? To live in 
an atmosphere of victories to be, and to have already gained 
enough to convince me that others will surely come, is to 
make all so-called sacrifices of personal comforts no longer 
a task but a delight. 

"Florence, Italy. My wife was informed by some 
Americans working here for the betterment of young 
women, that the Italian young women are now being set 
free to attend the universities and other educational insti- 
tutions. They do not know what freedom means, and are 
in great danger because they have been restrained by rules 
and customs that held but did not instruct them. The 
young have not been allowed to mingle under proper guid- 
ance and example. They are not to blame, but the powers 
that have kept them thus uninformed are at fault. On the 
billboards here in Florence fine concerts are advertised to 

130 



THE NATION AND SELF-MASTERY 

begin at twenty-one o'clock — they count time that way here. 
Think of it, the people going at bedtime to an entertainment 
to last several hours ! Midnight is no time for amusement. 
It is the time when, among animals, only beasts of prey 
are roving about. This fact is of great significance, and 
should be noted in protecting our future citizens. It is the 
beast-of-prey part of any man that is most alert and seeking 
amusement at that late hour of the night. It is the time 
when the conscience is somewhat asleep and guardian par- 
ents are out of sight. It is the time when burglars, thieves, 
and highway robbers do their work. The moral villain 
knows full well when he can best operate. No sane person 
would blast the hope of a young life for a night's revelry 
if he realized the consequences." 

The nation need not trouble about race-suicide. Let 
provision be ample to guard against race-degeneracy, and 
that will be enough. The strong race will reproduce; no 
fear about that. A sensible woman will not want a de- 
generate slave of tobacco, drink, or laziness for a life-com- 
panion and the father of her children ; she will prefer to 
become a teacher, librarian, or typewriter. An intelligent, 
vigorous man will not want some slave of fashion or devotee 
of the card-table and the midnight dance as his companion 
and the mother of his children. Let the two strong, noble 
ones get sight of each other, and they will be drawn to- 
gether by the mutual law of attraction that God has built 
into the very nature of them both. They must, however, 
first meet under proper conditions of mutual respect, and 
not of sudden familiarity of bodily caresses. This is a 
privilege of well-proved merit on either side, not a favor 
to be granted at sight. Two strong ones will unite and 
reproduce their kind. If they are weak, they can not be 
forever kept apart, but they will meet with a selfish animal- 
impulse, for pastime and indulgence. The spirit which says, 
"With that man or that woman as my life-companion I 

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SELF-MASTERY OF MEN AND NATIONS 

would be my best self," is entirely lacking. The weak 
young woman wants to meet the weak young man for 
what? Oh, he will buy her some chocolate or ice-cream, 
or take her to a dance or the theater. It will give her 
a chance to parade her fine clothes and make the other 
weaklings envious. The young man wants what? That 
varies. He may want a rich wife to support him in luxury 
and laziness; often his animal-nature is master, and he 
wants a young woman of attractive figure who is not too 
modest. The dance and the theater are places where 
modesty and morals are more frequently laughed at than 
honored, and he takes her there. They pass the time in a 
gay, free manner that robs each of something of respect 
for the other. , Each of these two persons should find the 
chief attraction in noble companionship with a noble soul. 
Does life or eternity offer anything better than that? In 
the frivolities of life these two fail to find any enduring 
charm in each other. They each try another chance com- 
panion, and the same thing happens. Sometimes there is 
a deep sin, sometimes only the sin of trifling with the most 
important things of life, and thus spoiling life itself — and 
that is a serious matter. 

"Florence, April 27th. We went to Fiesole yesterday, 
where we had a very fine view of the valley of the Arno, 
and the mountains beyond. For a more extended view 
I climbed to the summit of the hill at the southeast. What 
impressed me most is the fact that at the summit, 1,500 feet 
high, there are extensive stone quarries. The workmen 
were friendly and cheerful at their hard and poorly-paid 
toil. I asked some questions, and went further, where I 
found a man working alone. He had a row of holes drilled 
in a large rock, and with wedges and a sledge-hammer he 
was splitting it. These men prepare window-sills, posts, 
or pavement-slabs, as the material will best serve. Florence 

132 



THE NATION AND SELF-MASTERY 

is paved with large stone slabs. Near him were four healthy 
children, ranging from four to ten years old. They were 
playing quietly while the father plied his hammer rapidly 
to provide himself and family with very plain food and 
clothing. I used my little Italian as best I could in asking 
some questions, and then I told him he was helping to 
make the city beautiful with his work. He smiled, and 
hammered away as though no time were to be lost. I re- 
garded his children for a little time with keen interest, then 
touched my hat to him as I gave him a cheerful parting 
salutation. I was compelled to say to myself that here is 
the nerve and sinew of Italy, and of every nation in the 
world. I take off my hat to them cheerfully, and thus I 
gather a wide sympathy with the people the world over 
who do the plain, necessary work. 

I wound my way around the mountain, returning to 
the tram by another route. The women along the narrow 
streets were busy knitting, washing, sewing, or doing other 
useful work. The children played peacefully, and their 
mothers chatted merrily. I went into the curious old ca- 
thedral, which has lately been restored. Off in a side- 
chapel four or five priests of vigorous build were chanting 
some responsive service in a monotonous strain. There 
was no one to listen except one young woman, who ap- 
peared to be a tourist, trying to catch the words and learn 
what they were saying to themselves. I could catch no 
words, nor did I try very hard, as I knew it had nothing 
to do with the progress of Italy or of the world, both of 
which were of such intense interest to me. 

We took the tram for Florence. Almost frequently 
enough to keep us constantly breathing their dust and vile 
fumes, we met one automobile after another going at in- 
sane speed. These fellows are the most selfish beings the 
world affords at present ; they have no regard for the rights 
of others. I could not avoid some reflections on the way. 

133 



SELF-MASTERY OF MEN AND NATIONS 

Perhaps human nature is no more selfish here than else- 
where, but the contrasts are sharper between the toiler who 
prepares the useful things of life and the idle class who 
seem to have little in their plans that benefits anybody what- 
soever. Occasionally some fellow with a glib tongue gets 
tired breaking stone or some other work ; he finds it easier 
to labor with his mouth, and turns agitator. He tells the 
workmen how they are abused, points to the selfish use 
of money that is most evident, and sooner or later there is 
a strike or a labor-war of some kind. I believe the worst 
way to begin a reform is to set employers and employed 
to fighting each other. War-methods have always been 
bad, and will never be good. The patience of millions of 
the faithful toilers the world over is commendable. Those 
in plenty and in power should get down on their knees in 
just acknowledgment of their wrong dealing with this class. 
They may not do that ; they will not in large numbers, un- 
less compelled to, which I hope may never te necessary. 
It is surely not too much to ask them to waste less on luxu- 
ries, and help the children of these toilers to the training 
and education that will lift them out of the reach of agi- 
tators and other enemies of progress. Labor-wars and 
strikes cost too much in money, time, and good-will. No 
one will deny that in connection with strikes, better con- 
ditions have come to laborers ; but that does not prove that 
more would not have been accomplished by studying out the 
real fault, finding those to blame, and then applying reason- 
ing methods and fostering a spirit of friendship. It cer- 
tainly is the duty of those who are able to visit different 
parts of the world and observe the varied conditions, to 
gather the best from all sources and apply it to the benefit 
of the general welfare. Italy has good material for a great 
people. May the spirit of her toilers who labor patiently 
on to support their families, rule that land; and not the 
spirit of the idle pleasure-seekers, indifferent to all but 
themselves !" 

*34 



THE NATION AND SELF-MASTERY 

ART IN LATIN COUNTRIES. 

One great need of the countries in Southern Europe is 
a genuine respect for woman. Artists have searched the 
country for beautiful women to serve as nude models in 
sculpture and painting. It is a degradation of womankind 
to treat her in this way. Her true virtues do not appear 
in the least in the average product. When woman is to be 
truthfully represented, she is not put up without clothing; 
we have always seen our mothers and all our useful women 
properly clad. We have read of naked savages; but they 
know no better. In these countries, where in art woman 
is so often represented as a handsome animal, she is thought 
of as such in a large degree. No woman can long continue 
to be what artists call handsome, and have her spiritual, 
mental, and physical powers developed. Character, mental 
growth, and physical service all make lines on the face and 
person. Motherhood must yield something of her beauty 
as a necessary sacrifice to usefulness, but it reappears in 
her offspring. 

This kind of art makes the fatal blunder of placing 
woman's greatest charms below her chin. It tends to 
animal-mastery in men, and women too. Spiritual mastery 
on the part of both sexes is the only thing that can give 
woman her true place of honor and respect. The art that 
can not live without feeding on naked women had better 
starve to death; that portion can well be spared. Very 
wisely the laws of America prevent the sale or display of 
obscene pictures. That same law, if consistently enforced, 
would rid the galleries of much that is just as bad, but by 
tradition from pagan times has been dignified with the 
name of art. If it is necessary to civilization that people 
should wear clothes, then it is bad to see representations 
of their unclad forms on canvas or in stone. We who have 
studied human nature know that the average man has battle 
enough with himself to keep his thoughts where they should 

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SELF-MASTERY OF MEN AND NATIONS 

be, without adding any special fuel to the fires which already 
rage too fiercely within him at times. 

THE ROMAN HIERARCHY AND THE NATION. 

There are those who will ask why I mention the Roman 
hierarchy in this connection. My answer is, that, knowing 
the past history and the present policy of the Vatican, it 
is impossible to be loyal to our country and a friend to the 
childhood of the world, and be silent on the conduct of 
papal Rome toward our own children and neighbors and 
toward the vital interests of every country. I do not attack 
the Catholic Church ; on the contrary, I have confidence in 
its powers for good, I believe it has a great future, and I 
am working to hasten the day of justice and freedom to its 
millions of faithful people. 

Here is the vital point at issue. I insist that the little 
group of high officials at Rome, w T hich calls itself the head 
of the church, is not a necessary or even useful part of 
it, but is a hindrance to the best interests of the whole 
body of the Catholic Church, and to humanity in general. 
Separate the two, and one will easily see that the body 
will gain immensely without such a head. If the Catholic 
people in every country will cease to take commands from 
Rome, will open their minds to the truth from all sources, 
and then will follow their own best judgment, the cause 
of childhood and the interests of humanity the world over 
will move forward surprisingly. If any one thinks the 
Catholic people with their clergy could not manage all their 
affairs in America better without the interference of the 
Vatican, he must place them far below their true rank of 
intelligence. My attitude toward that church is that those 
people have the ability to direct their religious activities 
far better when they are free to follow the dictates of their 
own understanding and the needs of the people. 

The strength of the Roman Hierarchy lies in its in- 

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THE NATION AND SELF-MASTERY 

tensely concentrated organization. The higher officials are 
elderly men, behind whom the bridges have been burned, 
and those following fill the ranks of succession and prevent 
return. At their head is a man thoroughly in love with 
power, with the homage of his followers, and with the glitter 
of high office, and who is so old that his stiffened spiritual 
and mental joints can not bend. This great central power 
is entirely out of the reach of the people and the real vigor 
of the church, and is strong because of isolation. The chil- 
dren, before they know their right hand from their left, are 
taught to make their religious belief include the right of 
the Vatican to rule them. Mohammedanism fastens its 
vices on the people by the same principle of impressing the 
mind of the child. I am not speaking of the Catholic Church 
in general, that consists in each country of the people with 
their clergy, I speak only of that little group of high offi- 
cials in Rome, which is no part of the real church, but 
simply a foreign parasite on its life. This same Vatican is 
the prime cause of illiteracy and backwardness in Italy, in 
all the Latin countries, and especially in the Latin Americas. 
Any future pope will have in his power the possibility 
of making himself the most distinguished of the whole 
papal line if he will open the Bible to the people, set the 
priesthood free to follow their own best judgment regard- 
ing marriage and local government, and cut loose from 
the pernicious traditions of the Dark Ages. To help him 
take this step becomes the important duty of all who are 
outside of that church, and thus they will aid in liberating 
its millions from a bondage which has endured far too long. 
This is not so much a religious question, nor is it simply a 
local question: it is of national and international impor- 
tance; it is a problem of all humanity whether some arbi- 
trary power or any selfish interest shall interfere with the 
best education of the young and prejudice the minds of 
children against their companions and neighbors. The in- 

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SELF-MASTERY OF MEN AND NATIONS 

terference of a foreign power with the education of the 
children of America, in the selfish interests of that same 
foreign power, works a benefit to no one, and is an incal- 
culable wrong to the childhood of America and of the world. 

A WORLD-NEIGHBORHOOD. 

Each nation should regard itself as an individual among 
other nations and bound to keep the Golden Rule with its 
neighbors. Like an individual, it must not shoot across the 
border, menace the peace by carrying weapons, nor send 
its criminals and paupers into its neighbor's territory. It 
must police itself, support itself, and pension itself. It is 
a family in a larger world-neighborhood, and as such is 
bound by the same laws of honesty, peace, and friendship 
that holds any family in a well-regulated Christian com- 
munity. 

THE NATION AND WORLD-RESOURCES. 

The supplies of timber, coal, iron, and many other prod- 
ucts of the earth are world-supplies, and should be regarded 
as such ; they are necessities of civilization, and the quantity 
of each is limited. It is a matter of importance, therefore, 
whether any nation or any individual wastes these items of 
wealth. It is a national question whether a few persons 
have the right to consume large amounts of lumber in 
building mansions, and then to burn an unusual amount 
of fuel in heating them ; whether people have any right to 
exhaust the supply of gasoline in pleasure-rides, when that 
same material is needed for doing useful work ; whether any 
one may rightfully consume on his pleasures what the com- 
munity needs for its necessities. Holding the key to the 
public treasury does not give one the right to waste its 
contents on himself; holding the deeds to the timber and 
mining-lands does not give one the right to squander on 
himself what God has placed there for all the people and 
for all time. We who live now, owe it to our children to 

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THE NATION AND SELF-MASTERY 

leave the earth a garden rather than a desert. It becomes 
our imperative duty to husband the mineral wealth of the 
world and develop and conserve the fruitfulness of the soil 
in the interests of each nation, in the interests of the whole 
family of nations, and for the welfare of the future race 
of mankind. 



*39 



CHAPTER VIII 
THE HOME AND SELF-MASTERY 

We all desire a great nation. The first essential for this 
is strong, intelligent, individual men and women. To pro- 
duce strong men and women, a good home is necessary ; 
and to have a good home, its rights and privileges must be 
guarded against all enemies. Destroy the nesting-place of 
birds, and soon the flock will disappear; protect them in 
their nesting-time and place, and the mature birds will care 
for themselves. Man is like the birds in this, except that 
the simple life and rapid development of the birds require 
protection but for a brief period. Man is complex, the 
period of youth and development is long, and his nesting- 
time is greatly extended. All that is necessary for his nest 
is two or more plainly-furnished rooms, with an income 
reasonably certain, and sufficient for sensible needs. The 
personal equipment is a vigorous, manly man and a vigor- 
ous, womanly woman, who prefer each other as life-com- 
panions to any one else. The neighbors may think it a 
misfit, but if the two are satisfied, they have eternal rights 
to be let alone, and to be helped, not hindered, in their 
home-building aspirations. 

The work of the home is to build great men and women. 
Whatever improves the man, or the woman, or the home, 
improves the nation; whatever injures the man, or the 
woman, or the home, injures the nation. A defect in any 
of these is a serious matter. A defective father, a defective 
mother, or a defective home will surely stamp some defect 
on the young citizen. 

God has provided men and women with qualities and 

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THE HOME AND SELF-MASTERY 

mutual attractions which draw the two together for mutual 
benefit. These two persons form a companionship and a 
co-operative union for life. When they have been properly 
born of good parents and trained in good homes, a success- 
ful and happy union is within easy reach. For such a suc- 
cessful union each must seek to cultivate and retain all 
natural and acquired graces and attractions. Whatever 
robs either man or woman of these graces and attractions, 
without giving in its place a better substitute, is bad for 
the man, bad for the woman, bad for the home, bad for 
the children, and bad for the community. Each must strive 
to respect fully the other's personal rights and the rights 
of the home. If one injures the fibers that are to compose 
a rope, he injures the finished rope. The man and the 
woman and the home, with the several rights of each, 
twisted into strands, and then into the combined product, 
make the rope on which hangs the destiny of the nation. 
It is well to bear in mind the fact that the home which 
produces the most excellent men and women is the one that 
brings the greatest happiness to all its inmates. Such a 
home is a good neighbor, should this and another home 
choose to unite some of its younger members in marriage. 
Doubtless there will always be a few of both sexes who, 
for some reason, will travel life's pathway without the 
matrimonial degree ; but these will be few in that day 
when the home comes into possession of all its rights. Let 
a million baby boys and a million baby girls be born in 
this country in a period of years. Let each be well-born, 
and let them all be trained into strong, manly men and 
womanly women. Let them mingle under proper condi- 
tions of society, in the homes, churches, schools, and clean 
recreation and wholesome amusement, and there will be 
an exceedingly small number of these who will not find a 
congenial companion somewhere and for life. The divorce- 
courts and scandal-mongers will be able to take a twelve- 
month's vacation every year. 

141 



SELF-MASTERY OF MEN AND NATIONS 

THE AIM OF THE HOME. 

The highest aim of the home is to produce the best 
individual men and women. When all the rights of the 
home are restored to it, and when complete justice is ren- 
dered to the child, before and after birth, it will be easy 
to see that man was made in the image of his Maker. Let 
us take one man and one woman at their best, fresh and 
new, in the morning of life. Comparing the one with the 
other, perhaps they are not equal in anything; they are 
different, but they are just and fair in everything. Plainly 
one standard of habits and morals must serve for both. 
Neither has any right to be selfish, or to ask privileges 
that are not allowed to both. It is a great privilege for 
both to say, our home, our common interests, our children, 
our joys or sorrows. Each can say of the other, My com- 
panion believes in me, prefers me to all others, represents 
my better self, shares my sorrows and rejoices at my suc- 
cess. These two, in partnership with God, can endure the 
world or defy the world, as the case may require. Con- 
cerning their children, it is not so easy a problem. Bad 
neighbors and bad company crowd in upon the rights of 
the best homes and hinder their work. There are enough 
good homes in this country to prove fully the possibility of 
having all homes of that class, homes where the husband 
and wife each measure up to a high standard, and the 
children likewise. It may be objected that a few instances 
do not prove the possibility of all; that it is easier to hit 
a target one time out of five than to hit it every time. My 
answer is, Do away with the distance between you and the 
target, and you can hit it every time; remove its enemies, 
and bring in its friends, and you can have a good home 
every time. 

THE FRIENDS OF THE HOME. 

God is the first and greatest friend of the home ; where 
He rules, peace and happiness abide. 

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THE HOME AND SELF-MASTERY 

The Bible is the friend of the home ; it is ever a safe and 
helpful counselor, imparting wisdom to every member of 
the household. 

The Christian Church is a friend of the home, where 
neighbors may mingle under the best conditions of fellow- 
ship and mutual helpfulness. 

If Christ and His religion are fully installed in any 
home, its own individual needs will sooner or later be all 
provided for. This does not make the neighborhood safe, 
unless all the other homes are also Christian. It is often 
asked, Why are not all the children in certain good homes 
of an upright character? The answer might be, Because 
they have had bad neighbors. Missionaries in heathen lands 
feel this most of all, as their young children are in great 
danger from the outside influences. There are too many 
heathen in all lands. They come and entice the children 
from good homes into folly and sin on the delusive plea 
of having a good time. 

THE ENEMIES OF THE HOME. 

The saloon and intoxicating liquor in every form are 
fatal to the best interests of the home. They brutalize the 
people and squander the money needed for the household. 

Tobacco wastes the money that is needed for food, 
clothing, and books. It makes the air vile and unfit to 
breathe, and, in its particular sphere, it makes beasts out 
of otherwise good men. I believe its devotees would vote 
tobacco out of use by a vast majority if they could thus 
be freed from its mastery over themselves. 

Gambling and the games that lead to gambling and 
dishonesty ; prostitution and the amusements which lead 
in that direction, especially the dance and theater, are 
enemies of the home. 

This includes the clubs which take any members away 
from the home when they are needed there. This means 
the older members, if they are needed to care for others, 

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SELF-MASTERY OF MEN AND NATIONS 

or the young people who ought to spend more time at home 
and make it bright for parents who have done so much 
for them. Neither is to be selfish, but parents have some 
rights to the society of grown-up children during part of 
their evening and leisure hours. 

Anything that helps the young to reach the age of man- 
hood and womanhood with all their powers well preserved 
and developed is a friend to the home. 

Anything that lowers the grade of their manhood and 
womanhood, or deprives them of qualities needed for par- 
enthood, is an enemy of the home. 

WOMAN AND SIXF-MAST^RY. 

One of the greatest needs of the present time in the 
movement for a higher type of humanity is that full justice 
and respect be meted out to the womanhood of the world. 
There can be no exceptions made to this rule concerning 
any race or occupation. It is not equality that is to be 
sought — the two sexes, man and woman, are not equal, and 
never can be. They are unequal in looks, in strength, in 
the possibility of personal wrong, and in the capacity for 
self-defense. They are unequal in the strength of the 
temptation which leads to immorality. They are unequal 
in the suffering from the effects of the sin of immorality 
in which both engage. God made the man to be the father, 
and the woman to be the mother of the race. This of 
necessity makes them unequal in all that pertains to the 
more immediate and vital concerns of parenthood. Neither 
can perform the duties of the other, neither can shirk his 
own duty without great loss, but each can give a full 
measure of justice and respect to the other. God made 
men and women not to be equal and the same, but that 
each should be the perfect complement of the other. The 
two, living and working in a close companionship, should 
form a union which, moving in harmony with God, lacks 
nothing that can be desired. 

144 



THE HOME AND SELF-MASTERY 

The greatest failure of the race up to the present time 
has been the failure of the men and the women in possession 
of intelligence and power to do justice to the womanhood 
of the world. The first great duty to the unborn and the 
undeveloped children is to see that the motherhood of the 
race be no longer dwarfed and enslaved. The womanhood 
of the world must be made free from the slavery of man's 
unmastered lust, from the slavery of pernicious fashion in 
dress and customs of modern society, and from any slavery 
made potent by false religion and tradition. 

The bane of all heathen religions is the debasement of 
woman on alleged religious grounds. The teaching and 
practice of Confucianism, of Buddhism, of Mohammedan- 
ism, and of Mormonism definitely require or sanction the 
partial degradation of woman. Even that branch of Chris- 
tianity which has made the loudest and most belligerent 
claims of divine origin and authority, has degraded woman 
by its claim that the clergy can be better servants of God 
and man if forbidden the companionship of woman as life- 
partner in marriage. This implies, at least, that to become 
his wife and the mother of his children, and thus to furnish 
for him a home and all that that means in the way of in- 
fluence for good, a woman would interfere with his highest 
usefulness in the redemption of the race. This is an in- 
justice to woman, a wrong of the deepest dye against all 
the clergy of that church, and seriously interferes with the 
harmonious working of the various denominations of Chris- 
tians. The world well knows that no man desirous of keep- 
ing himself unspotted from sin, ever found the companion- 
ship of a true wife, to whom he himself was also true, 
other than a help, and not a hindrance, to his own virtue 
and manhood. The celibacy required by the Vatican rulers 
in the church does not rest on religious grounds at all, but 
on the determination of those rulers to hold all Christendom 
in their power. It is for this they require men and women, 
connected with the direct work of the Church, to take vows 

145 



SELF-MASTERY OF MEN AND NATIONS 

not to marry. Opposition to the law of celibacy is in no 
sense or degree an attack on the Catholic Church, but rather 
an act of kindness in relieving a multitude of people, in many 
lands, from a pernicious tradition that has caused untold 
harm to civilization in general, and to womanhood in par- 
ticular. The intelligent women of the world should unite 
to free their sisters from a traditional despotism, which, be- 
cause of being linked with the religion of a great church, 
is like a huge monster holding its victim powerless in its 
grasp. 

Licentiousness is mainly the sin of the man, yet its 
penalties fall heaviest on woman. The man may usually re- 
form and recover his place in respectable company ; not so 
the woman. If man would even recognize to himself the 
harm he does to woman in this sin, it would be a most 
powerful aid to him in resisting his own temptation to ruin 
the life of one in his power. The mothers and older sisters 
have one important field open to them for cultivation. It 
is the minds and thoughts of the boys that need to be 
trained intelligently to appreciate the mental and spiritual, 
rather than the physical attractions of girls and women. If 
women knew the terrible strain of the temptation that dis- 
turbs the peace of many youths and older men, they would 
be more careful to guard the approaches to this temptation. 

Alcoholic Liquor. — Alcoholic liquor, in all its aspects and 
customs as a beverage, is a great enemy of woman. It 
hardens the heart of her father, her husband, her son, and 
her neighbor against her. It squanders the money that be- 
longs to her, and even that which her own hands have 
earned, and which is sorely needed for bread and clothing. 
It takes away the society of father, husband, or son on many 
an evening that should be spent at home, helping to perform 
its duties, and make its prospects brighter. 

Tobacco. — Tobacco is also an enemy of woman. The 
men of her household who use it are always more or less 
enslaved by this expensive, filthy habit. It defiles the air 

146 



THE HOME AND SELF-MASTERY 

she must breathe, often in cramped quarters ; it weakens her 
offspring through a weakened fatherhood; it injures the 
children by compelling them in infancy to breathe strong 
fumes of poisoned air. It consumes the money of the family 
purse ; it hardens the hearts of the men who should bethink 
themselves more for human betterment. There comes a 
lack in the home, the husband knows it, and is disturbed by 
it. He takes a smoke or chew of tobacco, and the prodding 
of his conscience to bestir himself is blunted, and he goes 
on without the needed improvement. It will be objected 
that this is not true in every case. It is not apparent in 
every case, but had it not been for the benumbing effects of 
liquor and tobacco on the large number of men who do care 
for better things, the rights of women would have been at- 
tended to long before a few of them began to do foolish 
things to gain those rights. It can be asked, what could 
make some good men so selfish as to have them compel their 
attractive, clean wives and daughters to endure their tobacco 
smoke and breath? The answer is, nothing except tobacco 
could do that, but tobacco can and does. It first enslaves 
a man, and then dulls his sense of wrong to his best friends. 

War. — War is always and everywhere an enemy of 
woman. If the words were written in blood, it would be 
impossible to describe the wrongs and suffering that war 
has brought upon woman in the world's history. In this 
aspect of war there is no excuse that can be offered, there 
is no justification that can be made. The selfishness and 
brutality which are so magnified in war are manifested to- 
ward woman, and help to make man's nature less amenable 
to justice and reason. War tends to decide questions of 
disagreement by force, rather than by an appeal to reason 
and fair play. The wrong and injustice of war to woman- 
kind, if there were no other argument against it, is a suffi- 
cient cause for its abolition. 

The Dance and Theater are the enemies of woman in- 
asmuch as they arouse the animal nature in man. They do 

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SELF-MASTERY OF MEN AND NATIONS 

not emphasize the spiritual and the mental excellence of 
woman, but rather her physical attraction. The dominance 
of the spirit and the intellect makes lines in the face and 
renders the form less attractive. It is the round, plump 
figure of a young woman that is most alluring in the theater 
and dance. This too often catches evil eyes of husbands who 
have more money than principle, and broken homes and 
broken hearts are the results. Of many a comely young 
woman it can be said, her face and her form were her mis- 
fortune. And it was the avenue of sesuous amusements by 
which the spoiler entered who wrecked her life. The theater 
or the dance brought the two together, the victim within 
striking distance of the villain. 

To-day the papers contained an account of a French 
woman of some note shooting an American. Both were 
married, and the American woman had gotten the husband 
of the French woman away from her. The latter had ap- 
pealed to her to desist, and not ruin her home and happiness. 
This time she went to her and begged her to cease. The 
American said coldly, "I have gotten your husband, and I 
intend to keep him." Then the other fired two shots and 
killed her. Following this she went to the police and gave 
herself up, telling how she had suffered from the crimes 
of that woman. The French woman deserves our sincere 
sympathy. Society is to blame for condoning such crimes 
as that American woman was guilty of. She was a traitor 
to God, to the State, and to three people at least — the two 
husbands and the wife. Yet idle, over-fed, rich society 
plays at that diabolical game just for fun. The dance and 
the theater tend in the direction of all such crimes, and help 
make a plaything of woman and affection, thus corrupting 
both. Woman has a higher destiny, oh ! that she might make 
a greater effort herself, and have more help from man to 
find it ! 

No one can make a rope out of sand, nor a cement wall 
of hemp. The sand can be made into cement, and the hemp 

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THE HOME AND SELF-MASTERY 

into rope; that was the plan of the Creator, and it can not 
be changed. Likewise, the Creator has given woman her 
place, and she must be permitted to fill that place accord- 
ing to His plan. She must be in possession of her own pe- 
culiar reserve power. She must have a strong individual 
identity, and never yield the citadel of her own personal 
privileges to any intruder. She is primarily the queen of 
the home, the wife and companion of man, and the mother 
of the race. Man must have mother, sister, wife and daugh- 
ter. He must have a circle of womanly friends who trust, 
respect, and inspire him to be his best self at all times. 
Woman can not retain her true position in man's regard 
and be his toy. The soft, low-voiced gem of the Oriental 
harem may pass for the Mohammedan, but educated Chris- 
tian manhood desires something more definitely individual. 

It would be a surprise to know how much is lost to 
womanhood, because the genuine worth of so many women 
is obscured by unduly expensive clothing. A friend of 
mine gave me this experience which I repeat almost in his 
own words: 

"I had a real fright at the beginning of my serious ac- 
quaintance with the one who afterwards became my wife. 
I had been invited to her home for the evening. I had 
entered, and stood talking for a moment, when the approach 
of rustling silk startled me. I looked up and caught my 
breath. It was the young woman I had set my sails to catch, 
if all went well. My heart sank as the thought came to me 
that I could not bind myself to furnish wind for sails of 
that quality. I learned later that the silken rustle was not 
the measure of the girl's good sense ; but I might not have 
learned it until too late. Now, after years of acquaintance, 
I know that my wife is sensible about dress." 

This is not a rare instance; there are many excellent 
young men and women who would join fortunes in good 
homes if it were not that the young man feels he can not 
guarantee her such clothes as she now wears, and yet she 

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SELF-MASTERY OF MEN AND NATIONS 

wears them to look attractive to him. It is a mistaken opin- 
ion that each has of the other. It is too often the fine apparel 
that hides the real worth of the woman in the eyes of a 
worthy young man. Many, at heart, are sensible about dress, 
and if they were joined to some industrious young man 
they would do their part in the frequent needs of economy 
while getting started in life. The worthless young men are 
not frightened away by fine clothes ; they do not care, they 
may hope to be supported by a rich wife. They will take 
the chances, and if life goes hard they quit. It is the 
better grade of young men who will not ask a woman to 
dress more plainly for them, or risk compelling them to do 
so. Pretty faces and fine garments are in reach of but few, 
nor do they long give their possessor the power she covets. 
She must have strength and skill, both in hands and brain. 
These are the charms and virtues that endure, and keep 
woman in her own queenly realm all the way through life. 

Oh, ye men and women who are blessed with happy 
homes, and live in the joy and benefit of an honored woman- 
hood, would that I might take you with me to see the faith- 
fulness of the millions of toiling women in the less favored 
parts of the earth! In Africa, in Asia, in Mexico, in the 
southern Americas, woman is loyally trying to do her part. 
There is a vast number of them of whom it can be said per- 
sonally, as Christ said of one, "She hath done what she 
could/' She has done her best under her cramped circum- 
stances. 

Far too often religion has furnished the excuse for her 
degradation. This must be said to the shame of the higher 
officials of every form of religion that sanctions the debase- 
ment of woman in any degree. Omitting names and places, 
the following comes from my own experience: A certain 
church official very kindly escorted me to visit a boys' school 
of which he was justly proud. All the appointments were 
commendable. The efficiency of the school was largely due 
to the ability and devotion of the head teacher. Judge of 

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THE HOME AND SELF-MASTERY 

my surprise as we approached, to see that same dignified 
woman drop on her knee, kiss his hand, and address him in 
terms of marked superiority. I was ashamed of the man 
who would allow such a teacher to show him subjection in 
the name of religion before those boys ; while he seemed only 
pleased with it all. I have the fullest respect for that man as 
a man, and for that woman as a woman. It is the tyranny of 
tradition that rules them both, and, worst of all, it teaches 
the children a false and pernicious doctrine in reference to 
woman's true place in the world. 



151 



CHAPTER IX 
AMUSEMENTS AND SELF-MASTERY 

Recreation and amusements have a vital connection 
with the work of training the young, and it is very im- 
portant that boys and girls should become masters of them- 
selves in this department. People are saying to-day, Young 
people must have amusement. That puts the emphasis in the 
wrong place. That they become strong, true men and women 
is the goal to be reached, and we must conduct them to that 
goal by the best route. It is a serious question whether 
we have any time or need for amusement, unless it practi- 
cally means recreation. It is re-creation, however, that is 
needed. This is a field that should be studied far more than 
it has been in the past ; it has been left too much to chance, 
and to those who are eager to make money without hard 
work. This matter needs the best direction it can have from 
the combined wisdom of education, religion, business and 
science. Some amusements do not pay, there is a better 
way to spend time and money ; some are harmful to health 
and morals, and some are not right between man and man. 

Children need to be taught how to amuse themselves, 
they need to be instructed in the art of recreation. It is a 
very easy matter for several or even two intelligent young 
people to find wholesome recreation if they know how. The 
dance, gambling cards, and the theater tend to make people 
dependent and helpless in the matter of providing their own 
amusements. If one gets into either of these ruts it is hard 
to get out, they shut off originality. It becomes simply a 
question of money and time to go and be amused by falling 
into line with whatever these may offer. There are many 
games with other than gambling cards that have not been 

152 



AMUSEMENTS AND SELF-MASTERY 

spoiled by the professionals. Intelligence can enjoy them, 
and can invent more when these fail or tire. Like a good 
appetite for plain, wholesome food, a keen relish for simple, 
spontaneous recreation can be so cultivated as to give entire 
satisfaction. The people must be trained and equipped from 
childhood to provide their own recreation and amusement 
of a beneficial and not injurious or expensive nature. 

The drama can be utilized in the home as an attraction. 
People can read the parts, or learn them as they choose. 
It is only the person of weak mind who needs such elaborate 
and barbarously expensive trappings as some theaters have. 
The imagination of an intelligent person can supply all that 
is needed beyond moderate equipment. The love of applause 
on the stage pushes a crowd of young people into dangerous 
ventures, and they in turn create a craze for amusement 
which draws a large following, and thus the blind lead the 
blind into the ditch of expensive and degrading amusements. 
Those who have jaded and worn out their own sensibilities 
with a surfeit of amusement may need something extreme 
to arouse their interest. Pagan Rome became so callous to 
ordinary amusements that no play murder would satisfy, it 
must be real. We are in danger in that same direction ; char- 
acter, at least, is too often murdered. 

There seem to be a great many young men and women, 
even college-bred, who are so callous to each other's charms 
that they are not satisfied with an evening together in con- 
versation, music, and intellectual games. They seem to be 
incapable of finding sufficient pleasure in each other's com- 
pany at a little distance, they have to get into bodily contact. 
If the animal nature has to come in to that extent, the intel- 
lectual must be blunted indeed. That is the type of the sav- 
age whose mind is not developed. I am sure the possibilities 
of enjoyment of both sexes is far greater without the ex- 
cesses of late hours and such intimacy as the dance permits 
and requires. The higher nature and sensibilities need to be 
cultivated. Intelligent young people, properly taught, can 

153 



SELF-MASTERY OF MEN AND NATIONS 

enjoy each other's society without getting their hands on 
each other. Each has a native charm for the other which 
is rubbed off by contact. Animals could not enjoy an art 
gallery, they must come in touch with everything. So must 
persons whose more delicate sensibilities have been worn 
out. That is why those who have become enamored with 
these three forms of amusement can rarely be led to enjoy 
any other — everything else is too tame. 

It is certain that intelligent people can find abundant 
amusements that are within easy reach of the multitude that 
are not expensive, and are far removed from danger either 
to health or morals. In our own family and many others I 
have known, there have always been more ways of recreation 
than there was time for. It can be so in every case where in- 
telligence has kept out excesses and directed the energies 
wisely, 

RECREATION IN WORK. 

If all those engaged in useful employment had the true 
conception of their calling, namely, that they are engaged in 
that work because they want to support themselves and do 
their part in the world, the very joy of usefulness would 
have a large measure of recreative power for them while 
they are at their daily tasks. Children work hard at their 
play and enjoy it ; when they are properly taught they will 
learn to play hard at their work and enjoy that also. The 
past has blundered badly in honoring and envying the idle, 
worthless nabob, and in scorning the useful toiler. Too 
many talk as though all the year were drudgery except the 
few weeks of vacation. One can make it so for himself, 
but that is a sad perversion of life's best opportunities. 

One important principle has been overlooked in this field. 
It is that every wholesome amusement can be participated 
in by all ages, old and young together, by those who care to 
join. If anything looks silly or out of place for an old 
person who is active enough to take part in it, the thing is 

154 



AMUSEMENTS AND SELF-MASTERY 

wrong, or the taste that condemns it is wrong. One must 
weigh diamonds with delicate scales ; the way to detect any 
subtle evil is with delicate tests. If any amusement has to 
be carefully guarded as to the place where it is allowed, or 
concerning the persons who may engage in it, these tests 
condemn that amusement for all. It is a bad man, it is a 
bad woman, who can not be trusted to move freely among 
the old and the young, the strong and the weak, the rich 
and the poor, wherever common humanity are found, with- 
out taking advantage of them or influencing them to their 
hurt. It is a bad amusement that can not be left free to 
take its own natural course among the old and the young, 
the strong and the weak, the rich and the poor, wherever 
common humanity are found, without injuring the young 
people eager for fun, but ignorant of danger, and not able 
to protect themselves. 

To say some certain amusement does not hurt me, usu- 
ally means that one does not feel any sudden shock or is not 
immediately disabled by it. As well might one drink a dose 
of poison and say it did not hurt him, before it had had time 
to take effect. How can boys or girls of sixteen know 
whether a thing hurts them or not, when the harm does not 
show for several years ? I have had my pupils tell me it did 
not hurt them to do this or that, and that they could get 
their lessons just as well, when, at the time of their exami- 
nation, it came out very plainly that they had been hurt and 
they could not do as well. Later in life, when it was past 
recall, the evidence was strong enough to be seen even by 
one who all the time was trying not to see it. Such weighty 
matters can not be left to inexperience ; older heads must de- 
cide all such questions. 

There are those who say, let each one follow his own 
conscience in regard to amusements. Paul did that in per- 
secuting the Christians, but he found later that he was fol- 
lowing a falsely educated conscience. The young person 
could follow his conscience in choosing which of several 

155 



SELF-MASTERY OF MEN AND NATIONS 

roads to take in traveling through a strange country as 
safely as he could follow that same guide in choosing the 
right path among the many ways, good and bad, which are 
open to him in life's journey. The safe way through a 
forest, and the safe way through life, are matters of knowl- 
edge, not of conscience. Too many override their con- 
science and follow their inclination, even when they have 
some misgivings about certain things. It is so easy for one 
to stifle that voice within him, and defy his own better 
judgment, that the only safe rule is for each to refuse him- 
self permission to do in his own sphere whatever will be 
dangerous for the common throng to do in theirs. These are 
my children, and my younger brothers and sisters ; whatever 
hurts them in their sphere hurts me in mine. King David, 
though a warrior, would not drink the water from the spring 
at Bethlehem, because the three men had gotten it in jeop- 
ardy of their lives, and to drink that water, he said, would 
be drinking their blood. There are a multitude of good 
people who are practically drinking the blood of thousands 
of young men and girls whose characters and lives are being 
sacrificed in supplying the amusements in which these good, 
comfortable people indulge. If I were to become so cal- 
lous as not to care whether these were injured or not, my 
susceptibilities to the finer joys of life would be so blunted 
that the world I live in would become insipid to me, and I 
should have to move down among the coarser animal pleas- 
ures whose days soon end in ruin. I get more joy, yes, more 
pleasure, out of being my brother's keeper — and my Lord's 
companion — than I can believe any person gets out of ques- 
tionable amusements, when all the years of life from six to 
sixty are counted. 

A MISTAKE IN ATHLETICS. 

Amusements have become too artificial and unnatural, 
and they are dwarfing the people's ability to provide their 
own recreation. Children can have too many toys and too 

156 



AMUSEMENTS AND SELF-MASTERY 

little chance to think out their own sports and games. There 
is a natural inventive genius in man, and an instinct of play, 
and these, coupled with the desire of children to do what- 
ever they see others doing, would, under wise direction, 
finally lead all the people, old and young, to join in simple, 
wholesome, and entirely helpful sports and pastimes. Body, 
mind and spirit would be benefited, and the animal instinct 
in man would be directed into useful energy, instead of 
being perverted into the channels of excess and immorality. 

Another very serious mistake that has been made in the 
field of recreation is that athletics have almost entirely de- 
serted their true sphere, and have entered that of the show 
business. Football, basket ball, and baseball have gone out 
of the hands of the masses who need exercise, into the hands 
of a few picked Samsons who need such drill least of all. 
Where ten or twenty experts perform in the ring, and several 
thousand merely look on and howl themselves hoarse, the 
performers might as well be monkeys, dogs, or Mexican bull 
fighters, so far as any physical training for the multitude is 
concerned. It is not necessary to go to college to be taught 
to shout one's self hoarse at some trivial victory of one col- 
lege "dozen" over another college "dozen" in a ball game. 
It is a mark of savagery to go to such extremes of enthusi- 
asm to defeat another, or over another's defeat — and all just 
for fun. If it were to defeat the liquor traffic or the tobacco 
habit, clean up politics, or even for a genuine reform in 
spelling English, all might join the crowd and shout for the 
victors with energy. 

The showmen are teaching the children and youth the 
show habit, and thus leading them to spend their money fool- 
ishly, and at the same time making them helpless and unable 
to provide their own amusement. All that is beneficial in 
this field could be provided through far more wholesome 
channels. If the whole tribe of these showmen who are 
running the theaters, shows, dances, and professional ball- 
playing were colonized on farms where they would become 

*S7 



SELF-MASTERY OF MEN AND NATIONS 

useful producers instead of corrupting the young people, 
the world would gain immensely thereby. 

I repeat the complaint that professionals have taken ath- 
letics away from the masses who need them, and degraded 
nearly the whole affair into a show business for money. I 
want to play ball myself for my own benefit. I want to 
catch the fire of younger enthusiasm in their midst as one 
of them. Meanwhile, I see the other players and cheer them 
on, and they cheer me, and all with mutual benefit. We 
might as well pay a few experts to do our eating for us 
simply because they could beat us on the time and quantity 
test. We need exercise and we need food, why should we 
hire experts to do our ball-playing, any more than to do our 
eating? I believe it is bad tradition from pagan times that 
spoils athletics to-day. It is high time to retire pagan tra- 
dition from several fields of modern activity. 

SHOULD BE CENSORED. 

Every amusement or recreation ought to be required to 
pass through four screens before being allowed to be taught 
to the coming generation : 

i. Education. Is its teaching helpful and not harmful 
in its general bearing on the young ? 

2. Science. Is it beneficial to health and to physical and 
mental development? 

3. Business. Does it pay? Is it too expensive ? Does it 
lead people to spend money for what they can not afford? 

4. Religion. Is it right ? Is it an enemy or rival of the 
home ? Does it offer any perils to chaste young womanhood 
and manhood? Would it be entirely proper for the best 
men and women, for teachers, ministers, fathers and mothers 
to participate in it, both as actors and as observers, at the 
times and places where it is left free to take its own course? 

There are surely enough games, pastimes, and entertain- 
ments that can stand these tests with a clean and unanimous 
commendation, to furnish all the recreation and amusement 

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AMUSEMENTS AND SELF-MASTERY 

that people have time for, or can use with profit. It is very 
important that the best scientific, religious, educational, and 
business talent be turned to the study of so important a sub- 
ject as this. Science and common sense are working to- 
gether to keep injurious and unwholesome ingredients out of 
our food. There is no more reason for having injurious or 
even questionable elements in our amusements than there is 
for having them in our food. The play and recreation in- 
fluences and agencies count very much in the issues of life ; 
they hold the switch that turns many a person on the side- 
track of ruin, or sends him on the main line to success and 
noble achievement. 

THE DANCE AND THE HOME). 

Inasmuch as the dance is taking such a prominent place 
in society, and in our high schools, normal schools, colleges 
and universities, I have, as a study, personified this amuse- 
ment and presented the case as an interview between Mr. 
Dance and Mr. Home. Let those dispute my conclusions 
who have traveled further and studied the problems of 
youth and the home more thoroughly than I have. 

"Good morning, Mr. Home, my name is Dance; I see 
you have some attractive sons and daughters and I have 
called to offer my services to yourself and family." 

"Yes, Mr. Dance, I have heard of you frequently. You 
may present your claims and recommendations, I will hear 
your story from yourself." 

"Mr. Home, you may know that I have customers in 
all ranks of society from the highest to the lowest. In the 
palaces of kings and emperors, and in the habitations of the 
humble workman, I am found. The rich and the poor, the 
great and the small, the good and the bad, I count among 
my customers. I am cosmopolitan, I am very broad and lib- 
eral, I am admired in colleges and universities, and in the 
camps of savages. I serve all who wish me day or night, 
and I should be glad to be at your disposal at any time or 

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SELF-MASTERY OF MEN AND NATIONS 

place. I am admitted to every place except the church, and 
one or two denominations of very respectable people some- 
times build a dance-hall adjoining the church, and, judging 
by their conduct, they seem to be much happier there in my 
service than in the church itself. Some churches condemn 
me and call me bad, but I get a good many of their young 
people away from them, and some of the frisky older ones 
also. I can give one privilege that even parents can not 
furnish. I can introduce a man and woman on the dance 
floor, and they will fall into each other's arms as though they 
were affianced lovers, and swing around until they are 
tired. No other power can grant such liberty to respectable 
people with no guarantee of character on the part of either." 

"Mr. Dance, I am interested in your statement. You 
certainly have a wide range of customers; you seem to be 
about as widely distributed as sin. You appear to be wel- 
come wherever sin is admitted, perhaps you two are in part- 
nership. I have heard of you from my childhood days. My 
parents told me about you, and my church and Sunday 
school also gave me instructions concerning your work and 
influence. While I was at the university, and under circum- 
stances where you could appear at your very best, I made 
your more intimate acquaintance. I saw you at the extreme 
end of your course farthest removed from your worst fea- 
tures. Since that time I have studied your work and in- 
fluence systematically in all its various phases. I do not 
speak as a novice, but from long acquaintance with you 
and your friends. 

"Now, let me tell you who I am. My name is Christian 
Home ; I am employed by the firm of God and Humanity. 
I represent them, work for them, and do my best for them 
in all possible ways. The firm I represent has the entire 
care and responsibility for the birth, education, development 
and eternal welfare of every child born into this w r orld. One 
single defective child or person, of any color or in any clime, 
reflects some degree of reproach on the firm. So you see 

160 



AMUSEMENTS AND SELF-MASTERY 

we are interested in all those people whom you count as 
your customers. I have taken employment with this firm, 
not only as a trusted business agent, but, in addition to this, 
I have taken a vow, of the most solemn nature, of faithful- 
ness for life and eternity. I have invested my money in the 
firm, and I have taken my family with me, so you will see 
I am very closely bound up with all their interests. 

"You represent a firm that is a sworn enemy of ours. I 
am obliged to speak and act very frankly and firmly with 
all who wish to deal with the people, or serve in their homes. 
I am vitally interested in the influences that shape the lives 
of the young people. I shall speak plainly, and tell you what 
I know you to be. I will simply act as a mirror for you. 
First of all, you are always a substitute for something bet- 
ter than yourself. No place is too low or degraded for you. 
You enter the bad resorts and make them worse. You are 
most at home, and feel the freest in dives, saloons and 
brothels ; in fact you are so vile that the laws in some cities 
will not allow you even in the saloons, because you ruin so 
many young girls, and of course you ruin the men also. 

"You are a thief because you steal the hearts, the tender 
affection and the attention of husbands and wives, and be- 
stow them on the chance partner of the time and place. Of- 
ten these are men and women who are well dressed and have 
outside polish, but who are of the lowest possible character. 
You are the cause of divorce in a large number of instances. 
Married persons meet another at a dance, where at the 
midnight hours you give permission of 'free hugging for 
all' on the bare recommendation of an introduction for the 
evening. These two persons may know nothing of each 
other beyond this, nor be expected to recognize each other 
the next day on the street. The sentiment 'be mine for an 
hour' prevails in the dance. This leads to flirtation, to play- 
ing at making love, and as there is a kind of ecstasy and rap- 
ture in the close bodily contact of the sexes, one or both begin 
to feel that a mistake has been made in getting married — the 
11 161 



SELF-MASTERY OF MEN AND NATIONS 

wrong life partner has been taken, there would be greater 
happiness with this one. If that is possibly true, this fact 
better never be known when it is too late to change. You are 
to blame for telling the foolish people after it is too late. 
Usually it is not true, and here is the fault. Each compares 
this chance partner at a midnight frolic with the husband 
or wife at home in the humdrum duties of necessary work, 
and the contrast is unfair and deceptive. 

"Again, you rob the home and married life of what are its 
exclusive privileges. You allow two persons, a man and a 
woman, who are not related, to be very familiar and confi- 
dential in the midnight hours, to hold each other's hands, to 
embrace each other, and to act for the time as though they 
were life companions. These are the exclusive privileges 
of two who are married to each other, or expecting soon to 
be. You give these privileges to the young before their 
time, and thus they wear out in frolics that freshness of each 
which is intended to last as an attraction for the home 
and marriage during a lifetime. These charms were in- 
tended to keep husband and wife true to each other and 
satisfied with each other for a whole life, and you make them 
common and wear them out in the excesses of a few years 
of youth when they are not needed. Many do not marry 
because they can get, as they think, all the privileges of 
married life they seek, simply for money, through the help 
of the dance. Of course they are deceived, for you give 
them only the coarser animal pleasures. 

"Without you, it would be impossible for the bad ones 
to get acquainted with many of their victims, and to come 
within striking distance of them. With many others there 
is no intention of sin, but they are led up to it by the arous- 
ing of the tiger in the animal part of man's nature, which is 
a perilous matter. Many, very many do not break any defi- 
nite law, and think they do no harm to themselves or to 
the other. They do not know that you rob both of them 
of that delicate charm which God gave to each sex in the 

162 



AMUSEMENTS AND SELF-MASTERY 

sight of the other — of that charm which makes marriage 
and home life so happy in multitudes of cases where such 
liberties with the other sex have never been taken. Yet 
you do rob them, and you deny having done it. You rob 
the parents of the society of their young people in the 
evening hours, and leave the home lonesome. You rob the 
night of its quiet and rest. You do most of your work after 
bedtime for busy people. You rob the man of the love, 
confidence and society of his wife on many nights, or the 
greater part of the night, and the same is true in robbing 
the wife of her husband. You operate at the same time and 
manner as other beasts of prey, in the night season. You 
say 'Have a good time now and let the morrow care for it- 
self/ You say, 'On with the dance/ no matter at what cost. 

"You are the enemy of the home, of chastity, of morality, 
and of self-mastery in general. You are the enemy of virtue, 
and of modesty in both men and women, by breaking down 
the delicate personal reserve that belongs to each sex with 
reference to the other. That indescribable charm, that dew 
on the morning rose, that bloom on the butterfly's wing, 
your touch destroys, so that the better young men about to 
marry prefer a fresh young woman whose person has not 
been the property of a lot of chance partners in the dance. 
You are the enemy of the church and of wholesome amuse- 
ments at proper hours. You are the enemy of the school by 
diverting the attention of the pupils and fascinating them 
with frivolities and unwholesome pastimes. 

"You are condemned by the three great tests of business, 
science, and religion. By business because you are very 
expensive; you cost far more money and strength than you 
are worth, and there is a better way to spend the night hours. 
You are condemned by science, because you are not what you 
are represented to be ; you break the laws of health, and you 
do not benefit, but injure. You are condemned by religion, 
because your influence is always away from Christian du- 
ties, and toward loose morals, and indifference to sacred 

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SELF-MASTERY OF MEN AND NATIONS 

things. You do not do right between man and God, nor be- 
tween man and man. The fact that every shade of Chris- 
tianity agrees that you would disgrace the church if ad- 
mitted within its walls proves the real verdict of Christen- 
dom to be against you. Any useful act is proper in a church 
in emergencies. If necessary, a church may serve as a 
home, school, hospital, or anything harmless, without dese- 
cration, but never for a dance. All now agree that it is both 
silly and disgraceful for gospel ministers and old people to 
dance ; if so, that condemns it for every one. If a thing is 
wrong in itself for one class, it is wrong for all. Respectable 
people who admit you, freely acknowledge that you can not 
be trusted without watching. You lower the standard of 
morals, and they would not want their friends and young 
people to follow you to your usual haunts. In short, you 
are the friend and accomplice of the saloon, the brothel, the 
gambling den, the white slave trader, the libertine, and of 
every form of vice. 

"These facts will finally be recognized by all persons 
desiring the highest welfare of humanity. Then you will be 
forever banished from respectable society, and numerous 
substitutes, each better than you, will be put where you are 
now permitted. The only way you can serve me is to give 
this, my published report of you, the widest circulation pos- 
sible. You may tell the world that Christian Home knows 
you too well to give you permission to intrude your fair 
face, but vile life, into the midst of his young people to their 
great injury." 

the private dance. 

Many good people commend and practice private dances 
while they condemn those called public. The fault lies not 
in the place where the dance occurs, but in the act itself. A 
rattlesnake in a private garden or public park keeps its own 
reptile nature, and the same is true of anything good or bad 
in itself. Persons of means and culture can not, without in- 

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AMUSEMENTS AND SELF-MASTERY 

jury to themselves and others, practice in their exclusive 
circles and homes any amusement that is bad in a public hall 
for the dwellers in tenements and lodging houses. The pub- 
lic hall and the unprotected, the unchaperoned, young people 
simply set the dance free to show its truly bad character. 
The spirit of progress would make every good thing more 
accessible to the public. We rightly commend the public 
schools, libraries, reading-rooms, lectures, churches, mu- 
seums, art galleries, post-offices, and highways; in short, 
every good institution can be made public, but that does not 
include the dance, because it is bad and can only be tolerated 
under close restrictions. This is proved by the fact that in 
good society, a dance party of even the most select young 
people requires the presence of a chaperone. 

Wherever the sexes dance together, whether in private 
or public, it is a perilous offering of fair womanhood to the 
tiger nature in man. That same nature tamed and held in 
check, as God meant it should be, contributes to the manli- 
ness of man. But when that tiger is indulged, stimulated, 
and tantalized, it becomes a fierce beast of prey that neither 
scruples nor halts at any sacrifice, however great to its vic- 
tim. Its ravages, not only in pagan but also in Christian 
lands, are terrible. If the better element of the people real- 
ized what a struggle the multitude of young and older men 
have to keep that tiger from doing harm to themselves and 
others, they would guard the approaches to those dangerous 
temptations far more carefully. The prices men will pay 
in money and in loss of character, and the crimes they will 
commit to still the cravings of that fierce beast in man's na- 
ture, ought to convince the whole thinking world that every 
amusement that tends to arouse its ragings should be ban- 
ished forever. 

The crime of the so-called "art dances" against society is 
this : They direct the gaze and the thoughts of the men too 
much toward the figure of the women. These dances have 
changed neither their nature nor their degrading influence 

165 



SELF-MASTERY OF MEN AND NATIONS 

since that fatal day when the daughter of Herodias, by the 
immodest display of her person, captivated the half-intoxi- 
cated Herod and his profligate pagan court. Even that dis- 
solute man was thus led to do what his better judgment 
condemned. The followers of Herodias in many a wealthy 
church to-day would officially behead any minister who 
would preach the whole truth about dancing and those who 
are to blame for its continuance. 

Woman will never be appreciated at her true worth 
until the gaze and the thoughts of the men are more com- 
pletely centered on her intellectual, her spiritual, and her 
higher social nature. 



166 



CHAPTER X 
THE DEFENSE OF ALCOHOL 

Some very serious complaints have been repeatedly 
brought against alcohol. It seems fair that any one charged 
with an offense should be allowed to speak for himself. I 
have personified alcohol and will let him make his own de- 
fense. Mr. Alcohol says : 

"I am well aware of the charges made against me. Like 
much that has been said and written for centuries, these are 
in the nature of half truths ; from one standpoint they are 
true and from another they are false. In my proper place, 
I am a great benefit; out of my proper place and wrongly 
used, I am a great injury. Let me inform you that I am 
one of the valuable servants of God and man, and that I have 
a very important office to fill ; I must be true to my mission 
and work, no matter what bad results may follow in some 
cases. You will be interested in my history from the scien- 
tific side. 

"My birth came about in this way: You know all 
plants are composed mainly of a few elements, such as car- 
bon, oxygen, hydrogen, and nitrogen ; other elements enter- 
ing their structure in smaller quantities. A plant is a com- 
bination of several of these substances, organized by the 
principle of life. This organism may be very short-lived 
and easily broken up, as the mushroom, or it may last 
through many years like the cedar wood. Now the Creator 
uses great economy in His management of material. 
Though He has an immense stock on hand, and could create 
more, yet He wastes nothing. A plant comes into existence, 
takes from the earth what material it needs, and organizes 

167 



SELF-MASTERY OF MEN AND NATIONS 

it into its own peculiar form and structure. So long as life 
continues, and for some time afterward, the form of the 
plant keeps its substance. Sooner or later the principle of 
decay breaks up the organism and sets that same material 
free. Certain other forms of life and activity aid in break- 
ing up this organism. A very common agency is the army 
of insects and worms that devour plants and thus hasten 
their decay. These dead plants are completely broken up, 
or rotted, and then the same material becomes food for 
other plants. One could take a quantity of earth in a box, 
plant seeds in it, ripen the plants and then let them rot in 
that box, and produce more plants from the same material 
to the end of time. In the transit from plant life back to 
plant food, or rotted material, alcohol is formed. It is 
formed after decay has carried the plant beyond the limits 
of food for man and animals, and before it has reached the 
point of being food for plants. It is one of the steps which 
lead from the plant back to the soil in which it grows. While 
the millstones grind the grain and prepare it for food, neither 
man nor plants can use the millstones for food. While I 
help prepare plant food, neither man nor plants can use 
me as a food, for I am poison to both. No animal or man 
can drink me when I am pure and unmixed ; immerse any 
plant in me and it dies. You see God never intended alco- 
hol as a drink for man any more than He intended that man 
should eat millstones. 

"I am God's servant, and my work is to stand in line with 
those who grind up the dead plants and prepare food for 
other plants. I take the material and pass it on to the next 
one below me. As I reach it to him, man steps in and takes 
it, and here is where all the trouble begins. When man 
takes me inside of him, I go right on with my work in his 
stomach and brain, and through his whole system. I set 
him crazy, and he does not know or care much what he does. 
I like my own companions best, so I call for them, and the 
more I become master of the man the more frequently I 

168 



THE DEFENSE OF ALCOHOL 

send him after alcohol. I am the same everywhere in wine, 
beer or whisky, though I am mixed with different flavors. 

"I am very useful to burn and for various other purposes, 
but not to drink — God never meant me for that use. His 
Word speaks very plainly against man's abusing me that 
way. I am a respectable member of the world's useful 
agents. It is only because I have been forced to keep bad 
company that I have gotten a bad name. Some men have 
discovered that I am a very good trap for catching other 
people's money without much work. They do not care 
what becomes of the man after they get his money. The 
robber kills the man and robs him, then he runs away and 
leaves him for others to look after — the liquor dealer does 
the same. You must not think I am the servant to such men 
as the brewers, distillers, and saloonkeepers; I am their 
master and king. I master every man if I get into his sys- 
tem, and I hand him and his property down to the next 
one below me. My work is to help feed the plants, and un- 
less they put me in a closed cask, I go on with my work. 
If they give me anything to preserve, I keep it until I can 
pass it along down on its way to the soil and plant roots. 
I am very sorry to harm the innocent women, children and 
neighbors, but I am like the hot stove, which, having its 
work to do, can not stop because some small child burns his 
fingers. He must keep out of the stove's way just as if it 
were a railway train. So I must do my work, and man must 
learn not to abuse me. A good many blame God for making 
me. They might as well blame Him for making fire pos- 
sible, because they get burned sometimes. Thieves and rob- 
bers and men at war burn other people's property a great 
many times, but they need not blame God for fire, nor for 
alcohol either. 

"I am going to make a plea for myself and all of my 
friends who are so shamefully abused by bad men. The 
friends I refer to are the fruits and the grains that are 
spoiled to make bad drinks. Man wastes immense quantities 

169 



SELF-MASTERY OF MEN AND NATIONS 

of grapes, apples, and other fruit, and also vast stores of 
grain in manufacturing drinks that contain alcohol. The 
only way to free all of us from such disgrace and abuse is to 
teach the children better ways. The masses do not yet 
know the truth concerning alcohol. They do not know my 
true place, and they begin to drink those liquors of spoiled 
fruit before they know any better. Teach the children prop- 
erly ; then these children, when grown, will stop finding fault 
with God for the sins and wrongs that men commit, and they 
will work with God instead of working against Him." 

Alcohol as a beverage is an enormous double loss to the 
world by turning food into poison, and by the money that 
is paid out for it. Several per cent of the richest part of 
the fruit or grain juice is turned into a poison, and con- 
sumed with the rest of the liquid. It thus does double work 
for harm. To skim the cream from milk and throw it away 
would be wasteful, but to turn it into a poison and leave it 
in the milk would be a double crime — its presence would 
neutralize still more of the beneficial ingredients of the milk. 
That is precisely what is done when grape juice is allowed 
to spoil, that is, to turn into wine. The sugar becomes alco- 
hol and is not only a loss but is harmful. 

It is a sad sight to a thoughtful person to see the poverty 
in southern Europe, and at the same time know what vast 
tracts of good land are growing grapes, not to be eaten with 
all their nourishment, but to have their cream turned into 
poison, and thus to destroy still more of the food value of 
that delicious fruit. I had to see the same sin committed 
in reference to grain in England, Scotland, Ireland and Rus- 
sia, and in all the other countries to a greater or less degree. 
Yet all these countries pray God to help the poor. I 
could not help thinking perhaps He was answering those 
prayers with the diseases that are destroying the vines in 
France. As I walked through the vineyards and noticed 
how the grape vines had been sprayed, I had to think it is 
better to destroy the vines than to have the wine destroy the 
people. 170 



THE DEFENSE OF ALCOHOL 




ALCOHOL, Poison to Man, Animals and Plants. ^ 

I Animals. 




Diagram Showing the Place and Purpose of Alcohol. 



THE PLACE OF ALCOHOL IN NATURE. 

This diagram represents the cycle through which the 
life of a plant passes it its growth and decay. The seed is 
planted in the soil, and it grows up into the upper portion, 
where the plant, the fruit, and the seed are matured which 
are food for man and animals, but are of no use to other 
plants. These products can be kept for a time in a dry state, 
in cans, or preserved; but finally they decay and then they 
are poison to man and animals, but constitute the food for 
other plants. On the way down there is a space where al- 
cohol is formed which is poison to man, plants, and animals. 
Nature does not collect this alcohol in any of her store- 

171 



SELF-MASTERY OF MEN AND NATIONS 

houses as she does coal, oil, and minerals, but the space be- 
tween animal food and plant food illustrates the true scien- 
tific place and purpose of alcohol. 

The Creator's economy in this process is such that if 
man will but use his intelligence in avoiding waste and abuse, 
the same material can pass around the circle, first in the 
service of man and animals, and then as food for plants, 
a million times, and alcohol will harm no one, but simply 
perform its useful part in the series as the Creator intended. 



172 



CHAPTER XI 
THE CHURCH AND SELF-MASTERY 

A Christian is one who believes in Christ, and who 
earnestly strives to imitate His example and to follow His 
teaching. 

A church is an organized body of Christian believers 
with their officers and ministers. 

The work of the church is to lead and assist every in- 
dividual in the world to master and develop himself after 
the model, and according to the example and teaching of 
Jesus Christ. 

After several centuries of its existence, a great division 
in the church began in the following manner: The succes- 
sive Bishops of Rome sought to make themselves the sole 
head of the church ; to establish themselves as representa- 
tives of Christ on earth ; and to bring all Christendom under 
their power and control. Their claims were resisted vigor- 
ously, but by grafting the despotic methods of imperial Rome 
upon the forming life of the new religion, their power grew, 
and resulted in the division of Christianity. The saddest 
part of the world's history since the Christian era is con- 
nected with this division. There are now practically three 
great groups, the Roman, Greek, and Protestant churches, 
but no one of these three branches holds a commanding 
position of leadership that is recognized by the other two, 
and by the world in general. 

It is time to drop the terms Protestant and Roman Cath- 
olic, as these words are very indefinite, and neither term 
means the same everywhere. One might be the best or worst 
man on earth, and have his claims as a Protestant or Cath- 

173 



SELF-MASTERY OF MEN AND NATIONS 

olic allowed somewhere. Visit Palestine, Russia, Italy and 
Mexico, and this fact will be conceded. Let us begin to 
call the true followers of Christ Christians, no matter what 
branch of the church they may prefer. 

WHAT IS WRONG WITH THE) CHURCH? 

The great church rulers, instead of elevating the masses, 
have made their chief aim to subjugate the whole world 
to themselves. As their first purpose was to ride on the 
next man's shoulders, and as the next man objected, the 
most of the ruler's strength was consumed in keeping himself 
in the saddle, and the other man's strength in getting him 
off, hence the slow progress of religion. As no father 
would give to one of several sons a monopoly of any neces- 
sity, so that he might rule his brothers ; so God would not 
give to any human being the monopoly of so important a 
matter as the Christian religion — the only road to the high- 
est manhood and heaven. The claims of Primate of the 
Church, Vicar of Christ on Earth, or Apostolic Succession, 
are a species of monopoly which the world rejects. 

The church has tried to save the world through the 
power and agency of religion alone — Christ made no such 
promise as this for religion. As everything belongs to Him, 
the agencies of education, religion, business, and science 
must all be employed in the closest harmony and co-opera- 
tion for the benefit of man's higher use and nature. Every 
problem and question in life must be referred to the one 
of these great departments that can best handle it. 

There has been a rivalry among the leaders in these de- 
partments, and the church has been the greatest offender in 
claiming the first place and honors. The Master said, "Who- 
soever would be the greatest among you, let him be your 
servant," and "If any man will come after Me, let him deny 
himself and take up his cross and follow Me." In some 
churches the higher officials have gone to the other ex- 

174 



THE CHURCH AND SELF-MASTERY 

tremes in the luxury and extravagance of their lives, their 
love of power and preferment, and in resorting to extreme 
and unjust measures to make themselves both political and 
religious masters of others. 

Other religious bodies have been partly at war with each 
other ; they have been robbing each other, and quibbling 
over non-essentials in doctrine, to an extent condemned by 
their own better judgment. 

The church has erred in its teaching concerning the 
sacraments of baptism and the Lord's Supper. There has 
been strife about the form of administering them, and un- 
reasonable efficacy has been claimed for them ; whereas both 
are rational, scientific, and no more mysterious than the or- 
dinary physical phenomena of our daily lives. The sacra- 
ments as Christ used them can be examined from the stand- 
point of science, religion, experience, or reason, and no sham 
or weakness can be detected. 

Baptism is an initiation service admitting one into the 
company of Christ's followers. It is a public recognition 
impressing the mind of the person and the people that such 
a one has taken this definite step, and implies mutual obli- 
gations of helpfulness. It is an outward form in which we 
follow the example and command of our Lord, using water 
as a symbol of purity. The age of the person, the amount 
of water used or the form of applying it, so it be done rever- 
ently, are not of vital importance. 

When Christ instituted the Lord's Supper, His act was 
the same as saying, "I give My blood, My life rather than be 
untrue to My mission of saving the world." When we take 
the cup we must think, "This represents the blood of Christ 
in symbol, but our own in reality." That is to say, by this 
act we commemorate the death of Christ to the extent that 
like Him we will give up our lives before we will prove false 
to our promise to follow Him. In symbol, we offer the blood 
of Christ in sacrifice; in reality, we offer our own, even as 
He did 

175 



SELF-MASTERY OF MEN AND NATIONS 

REMEDIES £0R THE CHURCH TO APPLY. 

The province of the church is not to master or rule the 
world, but to lead the world to master itself according to 
the example and teaching of Christ. 

Since no church holds a commanding position of lead- 
ership that is recognized by the rest of the world, the leaders 
of every branch of the universal church must cease to claim 
any sort of monopoly for their church because of priority, 
because of numbers, or because of being old or new; and 
base its right to recognition solely on its actual teaching of 
the truth. Every church must prove its worth by its fruits, 
and let others decide on its rank of merit. 

The different churches must be honest and observe the 
Golden Rule with each other. The friendship and good-will 
of people is as much an item of wealth as money, and it is 
as surely an act of dishonesty to take one's friends and help- 
ers, as to take one's property. Church members and adher- 
ents cost effort and money, and they are of real value to their 
pastor and the church as surely as sheep or cattle are to 
their owners. The minister or church that robs a neigh- 
bor does a great personal wrong, and also brings dishonor 
upon the name of Christ. There are those who say, "The 
man is in error, and I am giving him the Truth." Then 
give him the truth as a neighborly, Christian act, and tell 
him to stay among his own people and instruct them. He 
and his church can then think of you as an honest man, 
and you will retain their friendship and good-will, and your 
own self-respect. If your neighbor's sheep were tangled in 
a wire fence, you would set it free and send it home, you 
would not claim it as your own. Substitute a sheep for a 
church member, and you will see the true character and 
dishonesty of robbing your neighbor church. The world 
ought to despise the pastor or church that tries to rob a 
neighbor on any pretext whatever. When ministers and 
churches become strictly honest with each other regarding 

176 



THE CHURCH AND SELF-MASTERY 

their members and friends, much of the strife and friction 
among them will cease. 

Every church must consent to stand in the strongest light 
and have all its claims, teachings, and methods approved or 
rejected by the most searching tests for genuineness and 
utility. 

The church must call in the aid of education, science, 
and business, and employ these agencies to their fullest ex- 
tent in guarding itself from error and unwise methods, and 
then it will make far better progress in its great work of 
saving the world. 

A MANHOOD STANDARD NK£D£D. 

The business world has established a definite standard 
in coins, weights and measures, which makes possible a 
vast network of commerce, and the distribution of useful 
products among the people of the world. There is now an 
imperative need that the churches should recognize a definite 
standard and measure of life, conduct, and character. There 
is no better reason for allowing every person to fix his own 
standard in religion and character than there is for allowing 
each one to make his own foot-rule, his own pound-weight, 
and to stamp his own coins. 

Like weights and measures in business, the standard for 
conduct and character must be one which rises above sex, 
color, or church preference. Such a standard has been fur- 
nished humanity in the life and conduct of Jesus Christ. The 
boy Jesus was subject to authority; the man, whether work- 
man, teacher, or leader of men, proved His fitness by His 
courage in Gethsemane and His devotion on Calvary, where 
He went to His death rather than be false to His trust. The 
glorified Christ was but the sequence of the obedient boy, 
the honest workman, and the true man and leader with His 
courage and fidelity. 

The life and conduct of Christ must be recognized as 
the standard for every age, race, and occupation of man- 

177 



SELF-MASTERY OF MEN AND NATIONS 

kind. The child can learn to think in units of the Christ 
life, and to apply this test to himself at the same time he is 
taught to count his change or to use any standard of meas- 
ure. 

CHURCH ORGANIZATION. 

The Church, as an organized body of Christians, can 
reach its greatest efficiency only through some kind of 
central intelligence that keeps in vital touch with its several 
members. Much as a man's head directs the various mem- 
bers of his body in care and service, so the head of the 
church must keep its energies at work, and see that no 
portion of the system ceases to do its part, or fails to re- 
ceive its due. This head, however, is never master, but 
rather a servant in a high position of responsibility, and must 
be renewed by the intelligent body of the church as efficiency 
may require. 

The Roman Church has a head, but that head is arbitrary 
and will not heed the cries of pain in its remoter members. 
In Mexico, France, and Portugal its feet are suffering, but 
the head will take no counsel with them; they must obey 
orders, not suggest methods. This head loves display and 
loads itself down with crowns and jewels, while it leaves 
its body to suffer and die for want of attention. This old 
man gets childish and does not like opposition ; he wants to 
be regarded with extreme veneration, and he even claims in- 
fallibility. When the awakened Roman Catholic Church 
comes to itself, it will drop such a head as that and choose 
one that is in sympathy with its own body, and will renew 
this head as need may require. 

The English Church claims that John Wesley never left 
that fold. There was certainly a great change in his church 
relation and he was driven out to preach in the streets and 
cemeteries. What did he leave? He took off the grave- 
clothes of a dead formality and tradition and left them, 
that was all. If the leaders of the Established Church had 

its 



THE CHURCH AND SELF-MASTERY 

done the same, there would have been no Methodist 
Churches ; the need for them would not have arisen. Had 
the rulers of the English Church followed the example of 
the commanders of the English navy, and moved forward 
with the times, that church would have led the world to-day. 
But no, they still cling to the old sailing ship of Apostolic 
Succession and the fictitious claim of being the only church. 
Had the navy done the same, the power of England would 
be found to-day only in the record of some history and not 
as a present fact. 

Wherein lay the strength of John Wesley's teaching? 
It was this ; he recognized the truth wherever it was found, 
and accepted it ; he recognized the false wherever it might 
be, and rejected it. He saw the truth in holy living accord- 
ing to the teaching of the Bible, and taught it; he saw the 
false in the claims and practices of the Established Churches, 
and repudiated them. If the simple Moravians had the truth, 
he, a graduate of proud Oxford, would learn from them; 
if the Bishops and Primates were teaching false doctrines, 
their authority and dignity had no power to lead him to 
accept their errors. This is simply what Christ did. He 
recognized the integrity and honesty of the plain fishermen 
and chose them as His disciples and representatives ; He 
recognized the falsity of the priests and Pharisees and con- 
demned them for their hypocrisy. 

The Methodist Church, the outgrowth of John Wesley's 
labors, is an organized body bound to a head or central power 
which is in close touch and sympathy with the remotest part 
of the church. The selection of this head is in the power of 
the most vigorous life of the whole church, ministers and 
laymen. The bishops of the Methodist Episcopal Church are 
a class of as excellent leaders as the earth affords, but men 
wear out ; therefore when a bishop becomes old he is retired 
from office, and another man is chosen. Like an efficient 
army, the church is managed by a vigorous head that is not 
allowed to become weak through age. 

179 



SELF-MASTERY OF MEN AND NATIONS 

THE CHURCH MUST I^AD THE WORLD. 

It is not the province of the church to master the world, 
because the mastery-of-others is a false system. It is the 
duty of the church, through its ministers, to lead the world 
to master itself, after the model and according to the example 
and teaching of Christ Jesus. 

Every person should seek to prepare himself, and aim 
to inspire his church or society to assume this leadership. 
As a Christian minister, I call upon my church to lead the 
world for the following reasons: 

The Methodist Church can be examined by the light of 
the Bible, or science, or experience, or reason concerning 
all its beliefs, teachings, and methods. 

This church is able to replenish its family of ministers 
and members from its own nursery, and does not need or 
desire to despoil other churches. It wishes to be a good 
partner, and has no plan to become the only church, nor to 
absorb its neighbors. You do not have to leave your church 
and join ours to get the benefit of our experiences and vic- 
tories ; we believe God is so great that you and I can move 
in parallel lines toward Him without crowding each other. 

This church has a complete organization, which is 
adapted to all kinds of Christian work, whether religious, 
missionary, educational, or reform, and it stands ready to 
exchange any method for a better one on good evidence. 

The Methodist Church has dared to place the danger- 
signal before the doors of these three seductive amuse- 
ments: the dance, the theater, and gaming-cards, because 
they face away from the best people and lead in the direc- 
tion of licentiousness, divorce, and gambling. They are 
malicious microbes that attack the spiritual life of the 
young, and cause them to turn away from the field of the 
ministry, of mission work, and of Christian leadership. Any 
church that encourages these amusements is liable to find 
it difficult to supply its pulpits from its own ranks, and may 
have to seek its ministers elsewhere. 

180 



THE CHURCH AND SELF-MASTERY 

APPEAL TO THE CHURCH. 

The world has reached a great crisis in its history. It 
is time for the church to equip itself for the struggle, step 
out as a standard-bearer, and summon the leaders of every 
department of life to follow. The Church must first walk 
through the fires kindled by genuine religion, true science, 
and approved experience, and let those fires burn away 
every defect or error, leaving only that which can stand the 
test of actual use and benefit to mankind. War, the liquor- 
traffic, crime, and poverty will speedily be driven from the 
earth if the churches will only arise in their might, put away 
all impediments of sin and selfishness, and, clad in the gar- 
ments of righteousness, follow on in the footsteps of our 
divine Redeemer. 

Christ dedicated to humanity the ministry of three years 
under the principle of giving up everything, even His life, 
for the redemption of the world. The pledge was demanded 
of Him, and He paid it — He died for man and the truth. If 
the ministers of the Methodist or any other strong church — 
if one-half of them will dedicate three years of service to 
the preaching of the whole gospel and the co-operative 
working of religion, education, business, and science ; if 
they will follow the spirit of the Master's simple life; if 
they will pledge their fidelity in the communion-cup as He 
did — they can turn the tide of the thinking world to believe 
and follow Jesus as the Savior of men. Few, if any, would 
have to give up their lives. They would not have to sacri- 
fice more than many have done — merely the foolishness, the 
seductive luxuries, and the superfluous indulgences of the 
times. Surely many persons will be impressed with the need 
and the reasonableness of such devotion. Step out and sum- 
mon your church, your society, your union, or whatever 
group of persons you may belong to, and appeal for their 
help in persuading the world to seek and follow its Great 
Leader. 

Oh, my brother men, how small a price to pay for such 

181 



SELF-MASTERY OF MEN AND NATIONS 

a splendid reward — the redemption of the world! The 
Master offered His life, He paid the pledge, and won the 
great victory. He knew the prize was worth the cost, and 
He paid it. Following in His footsteps, and with His ex- 
ample and His divine help, we can turn the thinking world 
in three years to face about from darkness and begin to 
march toward the eternal light and freedom. 

APPEAL FOR GENERAL LEADERSHIP. 

As leaders in the department of religion, our standard 
shall be the highest development of the individual and the 
general good of the whole race of men. We call upon the 
leaders in all lines of human activity to adopt the same 
standard. 

We call upon the men of the legal profession to refuse 
to employ their services in advancing unworthy men to 
office or in defending crime, no matter by whom committed ; 
to make the imperative rule in legal proceedings, whether 
they are engaged for the prosecution or defense, to discover 
the truth and the facts ; to discourage crime and dishonesty, 
and to defend virtue and the home against all enemies. 

We call upon the medical profession to aid in the elimi- 
nation of disease, and by all scientific and humane methods 
to protect the present and especially the coming genera- 
tions. These are in danger from the degeneracy which fol- 
lows the immoral and vicious habits of parents and other 
persons in the present customs of society. 

We call upon the leaders in science to use their best 
efforts to elevate humanity by condemning fraud and falsity 
wherever revealed by their investigations ; to seek to eradi- 
cate every habit and practice of men that science proves 
to be prejudicial to the welfare of the young; and to lend 
their aid and encouragement to the men of other callings 
who seek to follow the truth and avoid the false and per- 
nicious. 

We call upon the teachers and leaders in education to 

182 



THE CHURCH AND SELF-MASTERY 

help in preventing the bad instruction that is given to our 
children through the evil and destructive habits of older 
persons ; to use their best efforts to place the essentials of 
education within easier reach of the multitude through sim- 
plified spelling and emphasis on the most necessary studies, 
and to strive to advance the principles of the Great Teacher, 
who instructed men in the art of being good neighbors and 
citizens. 

We call upon all leaders in business to manufacture and 
sell only such wares as are beneficial to the general welfare ; 
to cease to furnish intoxicating drinks and harmful drugs 
to the people, and to oppose and discourage the present 
waste due to extravagance and the frequent changes in 
styles of clothing and other articles. In the whole manage- 
ment of business we beg them to place the moral well-being 
of the people above the gaining of money, the same as 
teachers and ministers of the gospel are now expected to 
do ; to feel that the business man has as great a responsibility 
for the welfare of the community as the Christian minister, 
and to consider that he has no more right to encourage vice 
and immorality by his wares than the minister has by his 
life and teaching. 



183 



CHAPTER XII 
THE BIBLE AND SELF-MASTERY 

The Bible is a collection of books giving the best knowl- 
edge and wisdom of all antiquity touching man's duty to 
God and his fellow-man. It is the great liberator and edu- 
cator of mankind, and therefore every nation should en- 
courage all its citizens to study and obey its precepts. It 
is not more bullets that the world needs, but more Bibles. 

A belief in the Bible makes a man more intelligent; it 
teaches him the facts about human nature, and consequently 
about himself. 

It makes a man free by teaching him the truth, and thus 
keeping him from the bondage of error and ignorance. 

It makes a man honest by showing him that whatsoever 
a man soweth, that shall he also reap. If he sows dis- 
honestly, he will reap dishonesty. 

It makes a man master of himself; then he does not 
allow himself to harm others, nor does he allow others to 
harm him. 

"By their fruits ye shall know them" applies to the Bible, 
and it is according to the principles of science and of the 
Bible itself to measure any force by the work it has ac- 
complished. I refer to the following historic facts to prove 
the value of the Bible in making men intelligent, upright, 
and free. 

THE BIBLE IN ENGLAND AND SPAIN. 

Years ago there was a time when Spain had more terri- 
tory than England. The power of England, representing 
at that time the British Empire of to-day, was afraid of 
Spain, and with good reason. Had not a storm destroyed 
the Spanish Armada, the course of history would probably 

184 



THE BIBLE AND SELF-MASTERY 

have been very different. We can not place any blame upon 
the Spanish people, nor can we give any credit to the Eng- 
lish people for the part that was played by the rough sea in 
deciding the victory. The history of Spanish navigators 
and explorers in that early time proves them to have been 
able, courageous men. Spanish masters of the sea and of 
arms discovered and took possession of the new world in 
advance of the English. 

Again, the traveler in Spain to-day who makes himself 
acquainted with the average type of the Spanish people as 
they are engaged in the necessary work of life must ac- 
knowledge that they have the qualities of faithful, efficient 
men and women — the Spanish people are made of good 
material. I have traveled somewhat extensively in Spanish 
lands, and also in British countries. The quality and fiber 
of both these peoples, from the earliest times to the present, 
are excellent. It is not the question which excels. History 
would make it difficult to prove either better or worse than 
the other. In the earlier years Spain had the advantage part 
of the time. To-day Spain has lost all her colonies, while 
England has kept hers, or she has the close friendship of 
them all. We in America know well that it is British civili- 
zation and the freedom and intelligence which that civili- 
zation brings with it that has made us a great nation, and 
we gladly acknowledge the source of our benefits. The 
people of America and England know that a strife or war 
between them could not result in gain to either, but in great 
loss to both. 

What has made the difference between Spain and Eng- 
land? It is not that the English people are better than the 
Spanish. The difference between Spain and England which 
has come about in the last few centuries lies in this fact: 
the powers which ruled in Spain burned the Bible and kept 
it from the common people; the powers which ruled in 
England published the Bible, wove its truth into the na- 
tional life, and encouraged its use among the people. 

185 



SELF-MASTERY OF MEN AND NATIONS 

To-day, wherever British civilization has gone and taken 
the Bible with it, we find intelligence, prosperity, and 
freedom. We find stability of government, we find safe 
investments in property, and we find a large measure of 
justice rendered to all. 

Compare the people and lands where Spanish civilization 
has gone and holds the balance of power. We find the Bible 
is still forbidden and is still burned. Where it is sold, ex- 
cept by missionaries and agents from other countries, it is 
expensive and hard to find. I have hunted for it personally 
in these lands, and speak from first knowledge. There is 
a great lack of intelligence, prosperity, and freedom. Prop- 
erty investments are not safe, and there is a measure of in- 
justice on every side. Honest toil is regarded with dis- 
favor, while idleness and luxury are looked upon as the 
marks of excellence; hence the advance of the chief lines 
of industry is led by foreigners. The governments are very 
unstable. It is easy for the one who is defeated in an elec- 
tion to gather a sufficient force of men into bands either to 
overthrow the government or to keep the country in turmoil 
and bloodshed much of the time. 

Why is this possible? For two reasons: some of the 
leaders are devoid of principle, and many of the people 
are so ignorant and wretched that a few glowing promises 
will easily lead them to plunder and kill their own country- 
men in hope of something better. 

Several hundred years ago these two branches of the 
human race were essentially equal ; to-day they are very un- 
equal. The change has not come about by virtue of the 
superiority of the English people as such over the Spanish, 
but by the elevating power and influence of the Bible which 
was woven into the life of the English people but forcibly 
withheld from the Spanish people. No other explanation 
will suffice to account for the divergence between these two 
nations, once so nearly equal but now so different. 

Permit me to copy a few reflections and convictions that 

186 



THE BIBLE AND SELF-MASTERY 

were impressed upon me in Madrid a few days after my 
sixtieth birthday. I had been seriously reviewing my own 
past life and the history of the human race 

"I do not understand all of mathematics. I have spent 
much time and labor upon the subject, but its mysteries are 
still beyond me; yet I know enough of the rudiments to 
keep my own accounts with the world in business and count 
my change. Those who are in a position of power and 
wealth owe it to every child of the world to teach each one to 
read and write, and enough of arithmetic to count his change 
and keep his accounts with his neighbors in business. 

"I do not understand all of the Bible and God's system 
for guiding men through life and eternity, but I do under- 
stand enough to keep my accounts with God, with myself, 
and with my fellow-men. I know the Golden Rule and its 
application. Those in power and wealth owe it to all the 
children of the earth to teach them enough about the Bible 
and God to enable them to keep their own accounts with 
Him, with themselves, and with their fellow-men. The child 
must be taught to care for his money among strangers ; like- 
wise he must be taught to take care of his character among 
strangers." 

WHAT IS WRONG WITH THE BIBLE? 

To the question, What is wrong with the Bible ? it could 
truthfully reply, "I have been wounded in the house of my 
friends, and, thus disabled, I have been prevented from doing 
my full work." Men have not been fair with the Bible. 
Different leaders have tried to marshal all the friends and 
forces of humanity in their following by some forced inter- 
pretation that seemed to serve their purpose. The great 
aim and use of the Bible is to place in the hands of each 
person the intelligence, the freedom, and the honesty neces- 
sary to make him a follower of God and true to his fellow- 
men. Its aim is not to make certain men masters of others, 
but to make each one a master of himself. If you and I 

187 



SELF-MASTERY OF MEN AND NATIONS 

follow God, we shall move in parallel lines, we shall have 
plenty of room, and we shall not hinder, but instead we 
shall help each other. If either of us attempts to ride on 
the shoulders of the other, or to compel the other to take 
orders from him and follow in his footsteps, there will be 
trouble. The influence of the Bible is to make us friends, 
walking side by side. Without it, each of us may easily 
leave his own path, trespass on the other, and get into strife 
and conflict. That is the world's history in too large a 
measure in all the past. The Bible can change that bad 
method for a good one. 

HOW SHAU, WE) APPROACH THE) BIBLE? 

We ought to approach the Bible as men approach a 
gold-mine. They go to get gold and any other metal that 
is of value. There is always earth and rock in the way, 
and it is closely mixed with the gold. This coarser material 
does not deter them. They move it aside, take as much gold 
as they can secure, and make it their own. They go very 
far to get it, and suffer all kinds of privation. They are 
determined to find treasure if possible. 

How do many act when coming to the Bible? They 
see what appears to be earth and coarse material, and they 
begin by examining these. They report that the gold has 
earth mixed with it; it is not already in bars or stamped 
coin. They try to measure how much earth there may be 
in the mixture. Different critics compare notes, and they 
seem to claim honor and distinction in proportion to the 
amount of coarse material they find — not how much gold 
to the ton, but how much earth. Thus, the less gold, the 
greater the find, because with little gold there is more room 
for earthy material. 

The gold in the mines is the pure gold, but it is scat- 
tered among the common rocks and earth in a natural way. 
The gold of the Bible is the real truth, but it is scattered 
along the centuries in the lives of actual human beings like 

188 



THE BIBLE AND SELF-MASTERY 

ourselves. The Bible tells us in a few brief paragraphs 
something of the beginning of things and of man. Then 
it recounts something of God's revelation of truth and the 
great facts that man needed to know. Mingled with these 
it records notable failures of persons who disobeyed God, 
and notable benefits that came to those that followed Him 
and obeyed Him. It is a very natural class of people the 
Bible mentions; it commends only the good, it condemns 
only the bad. It shows marvelous patience on the part of 
God in His dealings with men, even the bad ones. He 
who goes to the Bible for gold will find gold, and more 
than he can carry away. He can send his friends to the 
same mine ; it is too rich and large for monopoly. 

I can not understand how any one who wishes to do 
his full part in the world and take no more than his share, 
can refuse himself the help of the Bible in so great a task. 
I do not see how any one who is desirous of elevating 
humanity, of making every human being intelligent, honest, 
and free, and of extending the blessings of peace and pros- 
perity over the earth, can neglect so great an agency for 
good in his noble undertaking. 



189 



CHAPTER XIII 
LABOR AND SELF-MASTERY 

A war between labor and capital is irrational and sui- 
cidal. Capital is the result of man's labor applied to the 
resources and products which God has stored in the earth 
for man's use. A strife between labor and capital is there- 
fore a quarrel between man and what he has produced. 
One class of men is not born and fated to remain capitalists, 
and another to remain laborers. Each was created to be 
first laborer, and then capitalist in some degree. A house 
divided against itself can not stand. It falls, and both 
builder and owner must share the loss in the end, because 
something has been destroyed. Something has been lost, 
and that loss must be borne by some one. This is best illus- 
trated when the builder and the owner is the same man. 
When they are two different men, the owner will raise the 
rent to provide for such loss. The laborer is therefore rob- 
bing himself when he causes the destruction of property in 
a strike. 

The capital-and-labor problem is all a question between 
man and man. It is the minds of the men on both sides 
that must be changed. Change places as they are now; 
put labor-leaders and agitators in the places of the capital- 
ists; let them own and control the same millions, and let 
the present capitalists turn laborers, or simply disappear, 
and it is a question whether conditions would not become 
worse. The new masters might be more tyrannical than the 
old, and the new workmen would still be banded against 
them. 

Let this be done : Change the minds of the men on both 
sides; make all intelligent on the true principles of labor 

190 



LABOR AND SELF-MASTERY 

and capital ; make each honest in his particular sphere, and 
trouble and friction will disappear. One of two results 
would have to follow : either the two parties, as now consti- 
tuted, would become fair and just toward each other, or the 
laborers, being in the vast majority in numbers, would cease 
to waste their energies and earnings on liquor, tobacco, and 
expensive living. They would learn to use money more 
wisely, and would soon have capital and ability to build 
factories and control the situation entirely. 

WAR-METHODS CAN NOT FORCE THE EARTH. 

No strikes or lockouts could ever compel an acre of 
ground to increase its production of grain by one single 
ounce; that must be done by following more closely the 
laws of the soil and plant-growth. Likewise any increase in 
business investment must be caused by an improvement in 
the conditions favorable to such increase. The desired 
change absolutely refuses to come through war-methods, 
such as strikes, boycotts, and lockouts. These methods may 
shift some temporary advantage to one side or the other 
for a time, but with loss to both capitalists and laborers, or 
to the still larger party, the public, who buy the products. 
War-methods are always at the advantage of the few who 
are in command, either by chance or fraud, or by that genius 
for getting money which is possessed by only a few, like 
the genius for art, music, or any other special talent. The 
methods of peace and the principles of justice founded on 
intelligence, honesty, and self-mastery are the only methods 
that give the multitude a fair chance. War-methods have 
been tried for thousands of years as a means of settling dis- 
putes between man and man, and have failed utterly. The 
improvements that have come in connection with those 
methods have been in spite of war, and not because of it. 
War-methods count in favor of the few against the many. 
The many get in each other's way, and while they are right- 
ing themselves, the few in power, old ones or new ones, carry 

191 



SELF-MASTERY OF MEN AND NATIONS 

off the booty. The monkey will still eat the cheese over 
which the cats in the fable quarreled, and he is the only one 
to gain by the dispute. 

Let us illustrate the case. Place one thousand suits of 
clothes in a row, in separate bundles two feet apart. Make 
the chances as fair as possible ; place one thousand men in 
a line at some distance from the clothes, and at a given 
signal let them rush and get what they can. The result 
may be easily imagined : there will be many sore heads and 
torn clothes. This is labor and capital at war in a strike. 
Now put one thousand suits of clothes in a store. Tell 
one thousand men to go and work, earn money, save it, and 
buy the clothes — the first money gets the first suit. Com- 
pare results. There will be no waste, no new clothes ruined, 
no capital destroyed, no bad spirit, and no grudges remain- 
ing between man and man. The greatest gain would be 
the mastery of self and resources, in place of mastering 
others. The world must be redeemed through the mastery 
of self and soil, not through the conquering of others and 
compelling them to pay tribute into our hands. 

A WORD TO THE FEW AND A WORD TO THE MULTITUDE. 

There is a very strong tendency on the part of those in 
command in the great corporations of property on the one 
hand, and of the great labor combinations on the other, to 
issue arbitrary orders concerning the prices and the sale 
of commodities, and also regarding the prices and hours 
of labor, with ruinous restrictions for any independent spirit 
that will not bow to those in authority. It will help very 
little if the world is simply to change masters and still be 
ruled by despotism. It is impossible to fix arbitrarily the 
prices and hours of labor or the income for investments. 
It is imperative to have honest wares, honest labor, and 
honest prices for both, and then reasonable conditions for 
those concerned with labor or with capital. After this, each 
must be left free to work little or much, as his strength will 

192 



LABOR AND SELF-MASTERY 

allow, and to receive pay accordingly. If some persons wish 
simple clothing, plain barbering. and other service for a 
moderate price, and others desire a more expensive service, 
reason and common sense would decide that both ought to 
be accommodated, and we should not permit laws that com- 
pel the less competent to stop work and be supported by the 
public, nor should we place the required skill and the prices 
for service out of the reach of a large number of people. 
No one has the right to live by fraud or plunder, but within 
the range of right and justice it is necessary to allow very 
large freedom to suit the needs of the great variety of per- 
sons, tastes, and conditions of men. If one man wants a 
fifteen-cent lunch and another wants a thirty-cent lunch, 
how absurd it would be to pass a law that any restaurant 
should furnish only the one class or the other. But this 
would be as reasonable as it is to fix by law the price of 
any commodity or service. Make men intelligent and honest, 
and then set them free, is absolutely the only principle that 
can be worked in this world without intolerable despotism 
and injustice. 

The ancient empires were little more than great systems 
of spoliation of the many by the few, who, with the power 
of the sword in the hand of despotism, enslaved and robbed 
the multitude while they themselves lived in barbaric luxury 
and insane extravagance. The tendency to-day is to reverse 
this, and the multitude is inclined to despoil the few rich 
men by means of taxation through the power of the ballot, 
and to live on short labor-days, great damages for accidents, 
and pensions. When the many know their power, they can 
always outvote the few, and now they are tempted to vote 
pensions for the aged, the widows, and the orphans, and for 
all who are disabled by accident or disease. They assume 
that the rich men and the corporations can pay all the cost. 

Both systems are bad — the few despoiling the many with 
the sword, or the many despoiling the few by the ballot and 
taxation. The only hope of the world is through the intelli- 

1S 193 



SELF-MASTERY OF MEN AND NATIONS 

gence and honesty of the few and also of the many, so that 
each will earnestly strive to support himself, and not try 
to rob his neighbor, or even seek to live at the expense of 
others. Intelligence to know the true principles of life, com- 
bined with the honesty and courage to live by those prin- 
ciples, is the only safe rule and also the one hope of this 
awakening world of humanity. The world at large can ac- 
cept no smaller aim than the determination to make the 
last man intelligent and honest, so that he can be trusted 
with the power of his one ballot or with the power of any 
office, from the lowest to the highest, whether of the govern- 
ment, or some labor union, or great business corporation. 

AN APPEAL TO OTHER TOILERS. 

All you who toil in useful labor with hand and brain 
the world around, to you I appeal. Born and bred to toil 
myself, and having searched the world for knowledge, to 
you I bring my treasures. To you I fling open the only 
door to prosperity that is wide enough for all the world 
to pass through — the only door that admits all to regions 
of enduring prosperity and happiness. I have called it the 
self-mastery system. To pass through this door you need 
drop only the vices which rob you and your children of 
your money and your manhood ; drop those that deceive you 
with false promises of pleasure and satisfaction at the very 
time they are binding chains of servitude upon you. While 
they soothe your brain into inaction, they place chains of 
perpetual servitude upon your feet. 

Take as your liberator and model the Hero of Calvary ; 
He was a toiler, and He won the great victory. He con- 
quered self and the world's resources and products, and 
He did it to mark out the way for us. He mastered not 
only life and the world, but even death itself. By following 
Him you and I can do the same. By the use of the knowl- 
edge and the powers He has placed within our reach we 
can stave off the grim boatman until our time comes, not 

194 



LABOR AND SELF-MASTERY 

his. We can make him wait until, ripe with years and 
service, we shall say to him : "Come now ; I am ready to 
cross the river called Death ; I need your aid. I thank 
God that through His divine assistance you have become 
my servant, and not my master. " 

It lies within our power to give to every child a noble 
birth, and to aid him to build a mastered manhood that will 
walk through life, and step into eternity a crowned victor. 



195 



CHAPTER XIV 
THE NATION AND CRIME 

Crime is so far-reaching in its character that every crim- 
inal act goes beyond the one convicted, and implicates others ; 
and it is certain that no person goes to prison being the 
only one to blame. The sooner we recognize this fact, and 
the sooner each one looks himself over thoroughly to find 
what portion of blame rests on himself, the better for all. 
The next problem is to analyze the case and apply an ap- 
propriate remedy. 

The world says to ministers of the gospel and to teachers, 
"You must be upright; you must do right between man and 
man ; you are allowed no latitude." It says to the politicians, 
"You ought to be upright, but we do not require it." It 
says to the lawyers, "We do not really expect you to be 
honest." A lawyer may use any or all tricks picked up 
by his craft to defeat justice. The State may spend thou- 
sands of dollars to capture a criminal, and then one or more 
shrewd lawyers can be hired to use any means known to 
free him. They pick the jury with that end in view ; they 
intimidate witnesses ; they resort to all possible technicalities ; 
they bluster and try to confuse the counsel for the State ; in 
short, they too often disregard the rights of the honest 
public in their zeal to defend a criminal. They do all this 
for the mere hire of money and fame, working directly 
against the people and the State; and some get rich at it. 
There is no more reason why one set of men should turn 
against the honest people by defending criminals than there 
is for teaching crime to the children as an honorable voca- 
tion. This comes from a pernicious tradition which has 
assumed that the law is a thing by itself, and is to be upheld 

196 



THE NATION AND CRIME 

and defended at all costs and in defiance of justice to the 
people. Religion is not the only field that is cursed by bad 
tradition. Criminal law-practice is pernicious ; it is known 
to be so ; but because many talented men get both wealth 
and fame by it, crime is encouraged, and little progress for 
the better is made. 

WHAT IS WRONG IN THE MANAGEMENT OF CRIME? 

The penalty has been centralized too much upon the 
one who was caught and who lacked money or influence 
to defend him, and too little attention has been paid to the 
persons and conditions that made him a criminal. 

Crime has been allowed to become profitable ; first, to 
those who actually commit the crime — the primary crimi- 
nals ; and second, to those who help them escape punishment 
— the secondary criminals. 

It has been allowed to become respectable and profitable 
for professional men to appear in open court and secure a 
verdict which pronounces criminals innocent and sets them 
free. 

In the name of justice to all concerned, it is impossible 
to see why the aim of both sides of the case should not be 
to find out the truth in the matter and stop the crime. 

The nation, in its capacity as an individual, owes it to 
itself not to allow one of its members to fatten by devour- 
ing another member. There are those who claim that the 
criminal is in many cases defective in intellect, and not 
wholly responsible; then he should not be set free until he 
can be trusted. Criminals who commit stupid crimes may 
be adjudged to be stupid; those who commit skillful crimes 
must be admitted to have intelligence that makes them re- 
sponsible. It is no kindness to the professional criminal to 
encourage him to continue in his vicious ways. 

One way in which secondary criminals make money is 
this : A fraudulent company is formed to exploit a mine, a 
land-improvement: enterprise, or other business venture. In 

197 



SELF-MASTERY OF MEN AND NATIONS 

this case the persons forming the company are the primary- 
criminals. Their agents who sell fraudulent securities, and 
the banks that buy fraudulent notes against good property, 
are the secondary criminals who greatly profit by the crimes 
of the first. They should be made responsible for their con- 
duct and their part in the wrong to the community. We 
have a parallel in another line of business. The grocer and 
the druggist are not allowed to sell any substance unless 
they know what it is, and if it is of a dangerous character, 
it must be so labeled. A prison sentence for agents who 
sell fraudulent mining and other stock, and for bankers 
and others who buy fraudulent notes secured against unwary 
people, would make those men more cautious and far more 
honest. This would protect many teachers, clerks, farmers, 
and other busy people desirous of investing their earnings, 
and yet not acquainted with the tricks of smooth-tongued 
sharpers. 

TO DISCOURAGE) CRIME). 

Place the lawyers, both for the prosecution and defense, 
under oath that they will neither strive to free a guilty per- 
son nor to convict an innocent one ; that their sole aim shall 
be to find the truth in the case, to free the innocent and 
to punish the guilty. If the persons accused of crime felt 
that the aim of the attorneys on both sides was to free them 
if innocent, and to convict them if guilty, crime as a pro- 
fession would very soon cease. Make it a misdemeanor for 
a lawyer to try to defeat justice the same as it is for a wit- 
ness to perjure himself. Make it neither profitable nor re- 
spectable to help set criminals free to continue in acts of 
crime. 

Arouse public sentiment to the necessity of having one 
definite standard of conduct and manhood for ministers, 
teachers, lawyers, politicians, and all other classes of people. 
If lawyers will follow the honesty of Abraham Lincoln and 
refuse to defend those whom they have good reason to be- 

198 



THE NATION AND CRIME 

lieve or know are guilty, and if they will cease to hire them- 
selves out to become the attorneys of liquor men and others 
whose business injures and corrupts humanity, very rarely 
would any intelligent person definitely plan to commit a 
crime. The crimes committed on a sudden impulse and 
by irresponsible persons could be easily prevented or cared 
for. If the lawyers would boycott criminals and criminal 
practice, the number of crimes would diminish amazingly, 
and with vast gain to every State and every citizen of this 
world. 

Should any person think me too severe against certain 
practices of the lawyers, let me remind him that I have the 
whole legal profession back of me as a precedent. The 
lawyer by his own creed and practice assumes that his client 
is innocent and that his cause is just; then he proceeds to 
win his case against all odds. I am sure that my client — 
the childhood of the world — is innocent, and that this cause 
is a righteous one. It is therefore not only my right, but 
also my duty to defend my clients, the children, against 
wrong and injustice from all sources. 

The liquor-traffic could be made to cease by allowing no 
new recruits to its ranks, and by requiring the business to 
stop with the death of those who are now engaged in it 
and who make a living by it, and thus no one would be 
thrown out of employment. Likewise that portion of legal 
practice which now lives by defending crime and criminal 
business could be stopped by permitting no new recruits to 
this part of the profession, and letting it die with those who 
now live by carrying it on. 

DIVORCE. 

For divorce cases establish a tribunal, paid by the State, 
and allow no one to make money by the profession of sepa- 
rating husband and wife, as is now done by divorce lawyers. 

Let the intelligent people candidly and earnestly seek to 
learn what customs in society tend toward the separation of 

199 



SELF-MASTERY OF MEN AND NATIONS 

husbands and wives, and let this same intelligence honestly 
and courageously apply the necessary remedies, and the 
first dangerous steps in the direction of divorce will be 
avoided in a multitude of cases. The interview between 
Mr. Christian Home and Mr. Dance given in the chapter on 
"Amusements" touches some vital points in the causes of 
divorce. 

the; nation and poverty. 

We often hear the remark that "it is no disgrace to be 
poor." That depends on the cause of the poverty. If one 
is poor because he was honest and would not take advantage 
of others, because he had to support dependent relatives, or 
for any good and sufficient reason, it is no disgrace. Pov- 
erty is a disability, and it keeps one from privileges which 
he needs and should have. If a man has been idle, or 
drunken, or wasteful, and poverty has come to him by his 
own fault, he is disgraced by it. Back of him stand those 
who taught him bad habits or failed to teach him better ones. 
The merchants who crowded wares on him that he could 
not afford, whether it was strawberries in March or other 
extravagances in living, helped him down. Those who 
paraded fine clothes before him and made him ashamed of 
his plainer ones, helped to keep him poor. The truth is, 
we are our brother's keeper, and we are all bound together 
in a network of common interest. There is needed a greater 
sympathy for the weak or unfortunate members of society, 
and a necessity of better methods being applied to improve 
them. It is important to study the causes of extreme poverty 
and of immense wealth more thoroughly than we have done, 
and thus be able to adjust these matters better. 

There is nothing to be said against praying for the poor, 
unless it means that we thus try to shift our responsibility 
upon God. It might be better to pray for ourselves, that 
we may have intelligence and frugality, and that we may 
set a Christian example that would do away with poverty. 

200 



THE NATION AND CRIME 

The life of Jesus furnishes us a sure model, if we will but 
use it. 

The liquor-traffic, war, tobacco, and gambling are great 
causes of poverty which we have no excuse for continuing 
and carrying into the next generation. Those who hold the 
power of wealth, charge higher prices, take larger profits, 
and pay less for services than is just, in order to feed their 
craving for display and their love for personal indulgence. 

The pernicious tradition from paganism, that it is re- 
spectable to be idle and live on the earnings of others, 
either relatives or the public, is an important cause of crime 
and poverty. 

PENSIONS AND SELF-MASTERY. 

The pension system is unsound in principle and tends to 
dependency and weakness. It loads down any business 
such as a bank, factory, railway, or the State with the 
debts of one generation for the next to pay. It will hamper 
the old firm with a load of pensioners, in competition with 
a new one yet free from such burdens. It is uncertain for 
the pensioners, as the business may fail to earn enough to 
live and pay the salaries of its present force and also a list 
of past employees. 

It encourages improvidence and the spending of all one's 
income, because one is looking to get a pension to support 
him later. 

The only true business principle is for each one to cut 
down expenses, and thus increase his income and save money 
to pension himself. This makes each one independent, en- 
forces economy, discourages waste and extravagance, and 
protects the business and the public treasury from increas- 
ing burdens. 

WE CAN NOT LEAVE THIS WORK TO THE FEW. 

In every class the few persons in command, whether be- 
cause of money or of influence, are intoxicated with the love 

20I 



SELF-MASTERY OF MEN AND NATIONS 

of their own personal luxuries and their power over others. 
Their spirits are poisoned with the venom of their own 
selfishness. We, the people, have waited long enough for 
those at the top to reach down and help us up. We shall 
wait in vain for such help, for they are chiefly engaged in 
holding their places on other men's shoulders by taking 
advantage of the ignorance and incompetence of the masses. 
God meant that a bird should rise by cultivating the powers 
that He has built into the very constitution of the bird's 
nature, and by which he is master of the elements. God 
meant that the masses of humanity should rise by develop- 
ing the powers that He has built into the very constitution 
of each individual. Let the birds in the human nest cease 
to chirp and beg the larger ones to carry them on their 
backs by means of sick-benefits, alms-houses, and old-age 
pensions. These may be needed for a short time during 
the transition to better ways, but they are only temporary — 
they are only pontoon-bridges for emergencies. We must 
study the Master's ways and methods, and each will then 
learn to do all these things for himself. Let us cease trying 
to master our employers; we shall never get what we wish 
in that way. We must begin by mastering ourselves, and 
then strive to lead every individual to win by this same true 
principle. With the example and help of the Man of Galilee, 
the Hero of Calvary, who labored with mind, heart, and 
hand, we can conquer and lead the whole world to certain 
and enduring victory. 



202 



CHAPTER XV 
WAR AND SELF-MASTERY 

The principles of war and the qualities necessary for its 
prosecution, such as strength, courage, obedience to com- 
mands, and self-sacrifice, were never intended to be em- 
ployed by one man in gaining the mastery over another. 
Man needs all his strength, courage, self-denial, and other 
virtues to aid him in subduing and developing the earth 
and to make him sure of mastering his own powers for good. 
War is an intensely sad perversion of these qualities in an 
effort by the few to rule the rest of the world. 

Man was created with so much of the divine possibilities 
of will-power, talent, and energy that he must struggle 
valiantly first to understand the plan of his being, and then 
to gain the wise mastery of this same wonderful being. 
Man must be created intelligent; he must have hands and 
feet for his use, and he must have an independent will- 
power. The great final contest is for him to master this 
whole bundle of talents and powers, and to make it self- 
governing among other beings younger and weaker than 
himself. It would be impossible and absurd to have a police- 
man over each person; it is entirely possible and practical 
to produce and train a race, every individual of which shall 
be his own policeman and guardian. The final aim is that 
all shall be intelligent, all strong and capable, all honest 
and trustworthy, and, by virtue of these powers, all entirely 
free. All must be self -masters, self -servants, and mutually 
helpful wherever help is needed. 

The principle of war is a contest between two or more 
persons to gain some advantage by force or violence. This 
conflict occurs between two individuals, or units. The pos- 

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SELF-MASTERY OF MEN AND NATIONS 

sible contestants may be two persons, two families, two 
tribes or clans, or two nations. 

IS WAR INEVITABLE? 

War is not necessary ; it can be stopped forever. A vast 
number of instances in all civilized countries in which two 
families or two cities have lived together in entire harmony, 
proves this possibility. As we reach the units composed of 
a larger number of persons, such as States, provinces, and 
nations, we find the difficulties increase, and war becomes 
more probable from the fact of there being fewer personal 
acquaintances, and also a greater number of avenues through 
which trouble may enter and break the peace. 

Let us approach this problem from the point where 
actual war is going on. Picture for yourself any war you 
choose, and let us ask some questions of the combatants. 
We will go directly to the battlefield. Here are two men 
on opposing sides, trying to kill each other. We say to 
the first one, "Has that man you are fighting harmed you 
in any way?" 

"No, sir; I never saw him before; I do not know his 
name ; I can not speak his language." 

We ask the man on the other side the same question, 
and receive the same answer. Then we ask, "Why are you 
fighting that man?" 

The answer is, "I was ordered to do so by my officer." 
The other man gives the same reply. 

We go to the officer who ordered those men and their 
comrades to begin battle, and ask him, "Why did you give 
your men the order to attack those yonder?" 

He replies, "I simply obeyed the commands given me 
to deliver, and ordered the fight." The officer on the other 
side gives the same answer. Either side may say they were 
defending themselves from attack, but this fact changes 
nothing in principle. The privates and minor officers simply 
obey the orders of the higher officers in either case. 

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WAR AND SELF-MASTERY 

We pursue this course until we reach the commanding 
general. He says the emperor, the king, or the president 
issued a declaration of war ; or that the other nation de- 
clared war, and we are defending ourselves. In a large 
number of cases the cause of war can be traced to two 
persons, or even to one. At times the cause was two fami- 
lies who quarreled for property, or, as in wars of succession, 
it was for the crown. 

Let us view the field from another point. We will go 
again to the common soldier and ask him, "Have you any- 
thing against that man on the other side?" 

"No; I do not know him." 

"Very well; stop fighting!" giving the same order to 
both sides. Now we go to the officers of each army and 
say, "Tell your superiors those men find they have no quar- 
rel, and they refuse to fight." Finally we reach the one 
who declared war. 

"Sire, the men and officers say they have no disagree- 
ment with each other, and they have ceased fighting. They 
say, if you have any quarrel with that king or general, 
you and he must fight it out between yourselves, and that 
there is neither reason nor justice in so many persons 
slaughtering one another without cause. Sire, why do you 
not fight your own battles?" 

Let the facts of history answer this question. 

"I wanted more glory ; I wanted more territory ; I wanted 
more power and luxury ; I wanted to rule that nation ; I 
wanted to ride on the shoulders of other people ; I did not 
want to earn my own living, nor to pay for it : I preferred to 
get it by robbery and violence." 

The usual cause for war is the desire of one or more 
persons to get more than their share, to get what belongs 
to others, without earning it, and the fault always rests on 
the leaders or those in power. They say the people did so 
and so, but the beginning and end of every war is pro- 
nounced by the authority of a very few persons. 

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SELF-MASTERY OF MEN AND NATIONS 

WHO IS TO BLAME FOR WAR? 

The leaders, whether emperors, kings, nobles, or gen- 
erals. They are dishonest, and begin war by their own un- 
just conduct. They do far less than their part, and take 
enormously more than their share. Many of the warriors 
of the past have had the heart of a wolf and the courage 
of a rabbit. Animals fight their own battles. Often the 
kings and other rulers keep in the background during the 
fight, but spring to the front with great gusto when the 
triumphal procession is to take place. 

The chief one in authority is to blame. Next comes his 
highest official, who carries out a barbaric order for war. 
If he were not an arrant coward or thoroughly bad at heart, 
he would refuse to issue such an order. A good, respectable 
dog will not bite little pigs. When sent to drive them out, 
he will run over them and frighten them, but will not tear 
their tender flesh. History gives many instances where the 
king's dog, his cringing officer, has not spared women, 
children, or any one that seemed to stand in the way of his 
master's selfishness, lust, or greed. The one to suffer may 
even be at times the ruler's own father, mother, son, daugh- 
ter, or any other relative. The number of persons who suf- 
fer and the extent of their sacrifice and loss has little effect 
on the ruler who has the power to push them between him- 
self and danger. Such a ruler will not yield until in per- 
sonal peril of either bodily hurt or loss of power or terri- 
tory. When these are in real danger, he is ready to treat 
for peace. 

WHO GAINS BY WAR? 

In the larger sense, no one gains. There is a loss to 
both sides, because war always means bad feeling, frightful 
waste, lingering suffering, destruction, and death. The 
leaders on the winning side claim great honor and glory for 
their deeds of carnage. If any act when performed by two 

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WAR AND SELF-MASTERY 

persons is not justifiable, to increase the number by two 
hundred or two hundred thousand only magnifies the wrong. 
There is neither glory nor honor in slaying one's fellow- 
men ; that is one of the falsehoods of tradition. The boasted 
glories of war rest solely on the perfidy of pagan tradition. 
We ought to fling tradition into the crucible and kindle the 
fire of truth beneath it hot enough to burn away the cor- 
ruption and false teaching that the savagery of our ancestors 
has left to hinder human progress. 

REMEDIES FOR WAR. 

Cease to make warriors of the children. Cease to teach 
them that a warrior is thereby a hero and to be honored; 
teach them the true nature and causes of war, and prepare 
them to settle their disputes by reasonable methods. 

The army and navy officers are ever clamoring for more 
expensive armaments. Stop paying big pensions to these 
officers when retired; they can economize and pension 
themselves as well as millions of other persons whose in- 
come is less than the pay these officers receive. 

Stop building monuments for great battles and for war 
heroes; it is hard enough to forgive and forget injuries 
without being reminded of them by costly records in bronze 
and marble. Both sides of an unjust war build monuments, 
and thus teach their children to hate each other, and to 
seek an occasion for revenge. If the dead have merits, let 
them be honored in ways that will not perpetuate the con- 
ditions which made their sacrifices necessary. 

THE SPIRIT OF THE WARRIOR. 

The spirit of the true warrior and hero — the obedience 
to commands, the devotion to an aim, the indifference to 
personal comfort and suffering, and the readiness to sacrifice 
anything or everything for others, all of which are trained 
into the life of the soldier — is sorely needed to-day. This 
spirit is needed not in slaying our fellow-men, not in going 

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SELF-MASTERY OF MEN AND NATIONS 

to death for some selfish leader, nor in compelling men to 
combine in the interests of church, party, labor, capital, or 
any other narrowing impulse. Heroic men and women are 
needed in attacking the abuses of the times and the vices 
of the politicians and of society. The enemies of man to 
be assailed by the spirit of the true warrior are the practice 
of war itself, the liquor-traffic, the slavery of tobacco and 
other harmful drugs, the tyranny of fashion in clothing and 
other necessities, the despotism of both capitalists and la- 
borers, wastefulness of natural resources, graft, crime, and 
the general spirit of selfishness and oppression. We need 
to fight the frauds and shams in religion, in law, in medicine, 
in business, and in society ; in a word, we need to strive 
against everything that hinders the progress of humanity. 
If all were to join in this battle, it would cause real 
sacrifice to none, it would be a gain for each and every one, 
and the victory would be easily won. A vast multitude of 
good people would have to give up only some foolishness 
or even harmful indulgence to secure priceless benefits to 
the millions of the coming generations. Alas ! those who 
are comfortable in the old ruts are fixed in their prefer- 
ences, and do not wish to change. Appeal to them, and 
they tell you all is well, and they are satisfied with things 
as they are. Those in power hold the uncomfortable classes 
so firmly that they can not change if they would ; the hands 
and feet of many are tied by circumstances, and some com- 
fortable person holds the cords and will not relax his grip. 
It remains then a task of true heroism for those persons 
who care for the world's advancement to adopt the type 
of the soldier's simplicity of life and his indifference to 
personal gain, and fight against the wrong instead of fight- 
ing men, until the great world-victory is won for enduring 
peace and universal justice. 



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CHAPTER XVI 
A WORLD- VISION AND SELF-MASTERY 

The acorn can begin its life with a handful of moist 
earth in a little earthen pot. Erelong such small quarters 
will stop the growth of the plant ; more room is needed. For 
the full development of the oak, it must have abundant room 
for its roots in the soil and its branches in the air. How 
much space does an oak require? Enough to allow both 
roots and branches to keep on growing without reaching 
any barrier. Man's bodily growth very easily finds room, 
and does not require much space ; the mind, the spirit, needs 
more. I believe it needs this whole earth, and the universe 
about it. The present need is for each individual to have 
some idea and vision of the whole human race as the bounda- 
ries of the space his hope and faith are to occupy. Each 
member of the family needs a vision reaching to every mem- 
ber of the family ; each member of the nation needs a vision 
as large as his nation; each member of the world's popula- 
tion needs a vision as large as the world. Is this too much 
to ask ? Surely not of the world's leaders ; and to such this 
appeal is addressed. I know no better way of mastering 
self than to get a clear vision of the greatness and impor- 
tance of the rest of the world. I am small compared with 
the world, but I am great in my power to grasp it some- 
what and help it along. If I work hard, if I get little 
pay, if I spend little money on myself and more on others, 
if I do anything that goes beyond my own realm of per- 
sonal needs, I see that it pays, that it is worth while. 

This chapter, like others of this book, will be in some 
sense a diary of ideas as they came to me in travel, because 
of having a world- vision and still seeking a larger one. The 

14 209 



SELF-MASTERY OF MEN AND NATIONS 

vision I have of the great mass of the busy people who are 
doing the necessary work of the world is that they are 
worthy. They are doing well, and deserve a better chance 
than they have had. Spain was a new country to me, and 
seemed farther away than some other parts of Europe. It 
was, however, my joy to look out of the car-window and 
think of the common worker as my friend who helped make 
that journey possible and pleasant. So I wrote in my notes 
thus: "I am thankful to the capitalists, the engineers, the 
common workmen, and all who had any part in building this 
railroad. The same is true on ship-board, and also of any 
conveniences and privileges which I use. I eat fruit and 
other food from remote parts of the earth. I am thankful 
to all those who help in this line, including those who raise 
and transport bananas, figs, rice, or any other useful ar- 
ticles." It was my joy to see these people and live among 
them as friends and neighbors. I tried to feel with them, 
and think with them, and now I can not think lightly of 
them. I can grow enthusiastic over the common people of 
every land I have seen. Plenty of faults, of course, they 
have, but the blame lies not so much on them as on those 
who eat the fruits of their poorly-paid labor and do nothing 
to enlighten and elevate them to the place they ought to 
occupy. Was I above them in intelligence and power? 
Usually I was; and why? Because of better opportunities. 
If I help them up, will it help or hurt me? It will help me 
to all I hold most important. I greatly prefer good neigh- 
bors, with the thought that my neighborhood meets itself, 
starting where I live and traveling both ways around the 
earth. If I could know that within a reasonable time all 
the children of the world would have as fair a chance in 
life as I have had, it would be the best I could wish for 
them. Not that this would mean perfection, but it would 
mean that they could go on and improve matters as rapidly 
as they chose. 

I never have entered any door of opportunity that I 

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A WORLD-VISION AND SELF-MASTERY 

would not gladly leave wide open behind me, that all might 
enter. To leave such doors unlocked is my aim in spending 
so little on my food, clothing, and personal indulgences. 
To me it is not sacrifice, but an investment of a permanent 
nature ; it is an annuity not for life only, but for eternity. 
The difference between the price of first and third-class 
steamer-fares is to me a contribution to world-improvement. 
I believe I am making a better investment than the man 
who rides first-class. In part it is a case of self-mastery. I 
am a world-citizen and have the personal freedom of the 
world. I have a right to ride third-class if I wish, and help 
all the others in that part of the ship to the same intelli- 
gence and freedom I have. Then will there finally be but 
one class ? No ; there will be several classes of accommoda- 
tion that freemen may choose, but the scorn for the person 
who can not or will not spend so much for luxuries will 
be gone. Then more people will live within their means 
courageously and cheerfully. Then there will be less strife 
for wealth, because life's needs can be met for a reasonable 
sum of money and effort. I repeat here that equality in 
this world is neither possible nor desirable, but fairness and 
justice are both possible and practical. When there are 
more people with a world-vision, and more who are self- 
masters, the age of universal fairness will hasten its pace. 
Here is one phase of world-vision. I do not use liquor, 
tobacco, tea, or coffee. You use all these in moderation, 
and you intend to keep on using them. Well, we can still 
find a common platform to stand on, and it is this : Call in 
the best scientific knowledge and the full contributions from 
the fields of business and religion, and then let us guide the 
education and training of the next generation by their best 
obtainable verdict and principles. That is fair ; that is world- 
vision applied. You may say I have no right to interfere 
with your private habits. Perhaps not, if you lived on a 
planet alone; but if your private habits teach my boys to 
be slaves to vices, then it is different. The tax-payer has 

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SELF-MASTERY OF MEN AND NATIONS 

a right to a voice in the habits of others when those habits 
increase his taxes. All I ask now is a true verdict from all 
the sources of knowledge on any subject. Let prejudice and 
personal preference step aside and let the truth rule. 

If I had one supreme wish regarding humanity, it would 
be that every child born into this world should be intelligent 
and capable, and then trained to be honest and made free 
in his own sphere. You say that is impossible? It is not 
too high as an aim, and I can labor as though I expected it 
to come, and thus live in such a world in my own mind. 
It is a world-principle to favor everything that makes men 
free and independent, and to oppose everything that puts 
one class in the power of another. Congo rum means bond- 
age to the natives, and the man who will neither make rum 
for the Congo, nor ship it there, is a better neighbor than 
the one who will. 

A NARROW VISION. 

There are those who say it is not the world's affair how 
they live, if they have the money to pay for their luxuries. 
One question is, "How did they get so much money?" 
Waiving that question, remember this, my Master and yours 
had a right to all kinds of luxuries, but to win a world He 
gave up His rights and lived with the common people in 
their simple way. With Him it was an estimate of values. 
The conduct of Christ can be defended from the pure busi- 
ness standpoint of working for what was worth most in the 
long run. His was a world-vision, with all its requirements 
and privileges. His course was not a necessity, except that 
right means are always a necessity for reaching the best re- 
sults. I have no right to spend on luxuries and personal 
indulgence more than the majority of those who prepare 
those luxuries can afford to spend, provided they live as 
sensibly as I do. This must include their parents also, for 
one generation starts its successor for well or ill, and every 
life must be measured by including its very foundation. The 

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A WORLD-VISION AND SELF-MASTERY 

sins of the father may leave his child with an unfair chance, 
compared with the well-born. 

Electricity is just the same to-day as it was five hundred 
years ago. The knowledge and use of electricity have 
greatly increased since then. Human nature and its needs 
are the same to-day as they were five hundred years ago, yet 
the possibility of supplying human needs has greatly multi- 
plied. There are many in position to help apply these better 
methods for the benefit of the masses, but they will not, and 
yet they use all modern helps for their own self-gratification. 
There is need of a strong public sentiment to prod such per- 
sons into the traces and compel them to do their share of 
the work. Humanity can not exist in its present crowded 
state without a great deal of labor, study, and care. Unless 
disabled in some way, it would seem impossible to excuse 
any person from doing his part. He could not be excused 
by birth, for no person could claim greater privileges than 
the Son of God Himself, yet He said, "My Father worketh 
hitherto, and I work." Not all at the same task, but every 
creature at some task, is the rule of our being. The aristo- 
crat, whose parents taught him that he was a grandee, and 
must not work, is being crowded to the wall, and the sooner 
the better. That has been a part of the bad teaching in 
Spain, and unfortunately Spain is not the only country where 
laziness has been called a virtue. 

I was standing on the summit of a high hill south of 
Fiesole, greatly enjoying the extended view of the valley of 
the Arno, with the city of Florence and the mountains be- 
yond. I thought, what wars and struggles this valley has 
witnessed in the attempt of one man or one set of men to 
rule others and become their masters ! I stand and view 
this valley with greater dreams of world-conquest than Alex- 
ander ever had — he never conquered himself. Mine begins 
with myself, and then aims to teach the whole world the 
possibility and joy of self-conquest as the only sure road 
to world-conquest, Alexander gained his victories only with 

213 



SELF-MASTERY OF MEN AND NATIONS 

the aid of many others ; I likewise gain by the help of others. 
I have seen more of the world than he, by far, and I have 
possessed its beauty and enjoyed its privileges. Thus the 
world is at my feet to do what I want done, provided I am 
first at my own feet and can do for myself what I ought to 
do. Christ did not refuse world-conquest; it was only the 
devil's way of accomplishing it that He rejected. He knew 
a far better way, and adopted it, and He urges men to fol- 
low His example. Strange and insane as it may seem, the 
leaders of the world, who might know better, have accepted 
the devil's offer and vainly tried to work his plan. If the 
devil ever laughs, he might be pardoned for laughing at 
the folly of many men called Great. It is too serious in 
its consequences for any mirth on the part of ourselves, 
who have so much at stake. My dream of world-conquest 
would bring every human being to sit at the feet of the 
Great Teacher and learn how He conquered Himself, and 
how He will yet conquer the whole world. He said to His 
followers, "I have called you friends." World-conquest by 
Jesus means that He is to have all the inhabitants of the 
world as His friends. If His friends, of course all will be 
friends of each other, and all will be your friends and mine. 
Is that prize not worth the cost that falls to your lot and 
mine to pay? The Redeemer thought it was, and He paid 
far more than is asked of any one of us to-day. 

"Florence, Italy, April 30th, 5.30 A. M. 
" 'We who are about to die salute you.' These were the 
words formerly spoken by strong, brave men in the Roman 
arena to proud, ignoble slaves perched on the seats above 
them. Slaves? Yes, to every vice known to the rich, pam- 
pered, degenerate aristocracy of pagan Rome. Dressed in 
sumptuous robes and rich adornment, they were so base at 
heart as to enjoy seeing those noble men from the mountains 
and plains butcher each other like demons. How is such 
degradation possible? Simply by training the young to low 

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A WORLD-VISION AND SELF-MASTERY 

tastes and beastly amusements. A child easily learns to be 
kind or cruel. This can be seen in neighboring houses in 
the way different children treat their pet animals. How can 
the kings and generals of to-day be so ready to send men 
to kill each other in battle? They have been trained to do 
it, that is the explanation. The Roman arena now lies in 
ruins, a thing to interest the curious traveler, and its par- 
ticular barbarities are no more. Its spirit, however, still sur- 
vives in all too vigorous a form, not only in war, but also 
in business and society. 

"There is a far better salutation to-day: 'We who are 
about to live a larger life salute you. We who have entered 
the arena for world-conquest salute you. To every son and 
daughter of earth who is young enough to grow, we call 
to you, "Come into the great arena and let us conquer the 
world, not for us alone, but for itself." ' This is the last 
great battlefield in the world's long history of war — the last, 
the greatest, and the most glorious. It is the greatest and 
the most glorious because every person is to be enlisted and 
every one is to become a world-conqueror. Nothing less 
than a world-vision will do for the leaders in this conquest. 
What is the aim to be reached? To train the childhood of 
the whole world into strong, intelligent, useful men and 
women — to give every child of the world a fair chance. 
Conquest? Yes, each to conquer his own world and be- 
come master of himself and his surroundings. The smallest 
and weakest may enter this arena ; no exclusions because of 
size, sex, race, or lineage. Only one condition is required ; 
each combatant must have life and purpose enough to de- 
sire to grow. When a province seeks independence from its 
sovereign country, it starts a revolution and seeks recog- 
nition from other independent powers. You need to do the 
same. The only powers you need consider are yourself and 
God. God's recognition was contained in the type of your 
creation, namely: His own image. God created you with 
possibilities of a self that can think and act and keep your 

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SELF-MASTERY OF MEN AND NATIONS 

own thoughts and purposes in spite of everything. By your 
creation He gave you recognition as a world-power and 
made you worthy to become a world-conqueror. It remains 
only for you to secure your own recognition of yourself as 
worthy to become an independent world-power. Step into 
the arena. We who are about to live as world-conquerors 
with a world-vision, salute you, and with you the coming 
generations. 

"The first step toward victory is to prepare to serve your- 
self and others. You must put out of your own world what 
does not belong there. You must put into it what does be- 
long there. God and any other helps to conquest belong 
there. No one is ever independent of his friends and helpers, 
any more than he is independent of his feet and hands. Do 
not make the blunder of thinking you can ever run away 
from God and your friends. A soldier who runs away from 
his friends has gone among his enemies, where none will 
help him. A conqueror must have help, and securing that 
help, securing an army, is the first act. 

"What are the boundaries of this world you are to con- 
quer? It has none unless you set them up. If you are God's 
child, you can roam over all your Father's premises. Your 
thought and your vision may mount to the highest point 
and travel to the remotest star, or they may descend and 
wallow in any filth near you. You can guard swine, feed 
with them, and be unworthy of their company, or you can 
guard swine and really live among the stars. I have seen 
a boy watching an open gate to keep the cattle from going 
through. With a book in his hands, he was living among 
the sages, learning of them, and acquiring a vision that had 
no bounds. His world-to-be had a center, and he was that 
center ; its circumference was too far away to be measured. 
It is possible for every individual to become too great to 
think a mean thought or purposely do a mean act to him- 
self or any other being. Would it not be a joy to live among 
such world-conquerors? Christ thought so and gave His 

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A WORLD- VISION AND SELF-MASTERY 

life and service to win and make possible just such a future 
world as that. Just such a neighborhood as that I like to 
think, and then remember that that neighborhood has the 
same boundaries as God's universe. None need ever fear 
he will stumble against those boundaries. He may grow 
as large as he will, his vision reach infinity, and yet there 
is room, for God is still beyond, and He says, 'Comer Is 
it not worth while?" 

This was the vision that came to me almost word for 
word that early April morning in Florence. In sunny Italy 
one can find both stars and filth — I mean moral filth. There 
are those who, if they do not easily find filth ready-made, 
order some with their money. If one does that, his eagle 
has clipped his pinions and dropped into a dungeon, no 
longer a king, but a captive. In my travels in many lands 
I lived in the star-realm. I saw many traveling on a much 
lower plane, yet both were open to their choice. I wish I 
might close that lower passage and leave only the upper one 
open. You can do it for yourself if you will. 

GREAT PRINCIPLES. 

I seek in these world-studies to learn what are the great 
underlying principles and laws of growth and development 
which are of universal application. I seek those that defy 
monopoly and exclusiveness ; I am sure God has made man 
for such universal freedom as this would mean. No person 
has any right to hold for his exclusive use, or for his family 
and followers, any general good or benefit which he will 
neither sell nor give to the world at large after a reasonable 
period of monopoly. Patents and copyrights are such, and 
are by law limited to a certain period of years. If there 
is anything in apostolic succession or any religious rite that 
is of any value, it is time these were freely offered to all 
denominations, to be used in their own way as they see fit. 
All this must be done without asking them to march in the 

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SELF-MASTERY OF MEN AND NATIONS 

procession of any earthly leader, wear his colors, or admit 
his superiority. For him to longer refuse the free gift of 
these so-called privileges is to convict him either of extreme 
selfishness and greed for power or of being false in claiming 
virtue in what is only a fraud. If he is honest and is bound 
by tradition, it is time such chains were broken. The Chris- 
tian world does an act of kindness to break that chain and 
arouse such an ecclesiastical Rip Van Winkle from his 
bondage of sleep. 

I speak no word against the Catholic Church. That little 
group of old men at Rome, called the Vatican, is a thing 
entirely outside of the church. It is radically wrong in 
principle, as it is a power that seeks to master the world 
by ruling others, whereas Christ came to equip each person 
to rule himself. 

The world will be obliged to repudiate all interference 
from Rome, both in governmental and religious affairs. The 
people and the local clergy of any country constitute the 
church in that country, and are intelligent enough to man- 
age all their affairs without foreign interference. The 
church is wise to consider advice and suggestions from all 
sources, but all despotic rule, such as the Vatican attempts, 
must be rejected. 

FAITH AND BEUEF IN WORLD-VISION. 

It is very important to the seeker after a world-vision 
to have a large faith in God and humanity. He must believe 
in the general integrity of history and of men. He must 
be a believer rather than a doubter ; better believe too much 
than too little. The world has slight use for a set of men 
whose first aim is to hunt for fraud and become professional 
critics. All students who seek for the truth have an eye 
open for error. They do not eat nuts, shells and all ; they 
discriminate. Their aim, however, is to search for truth, 
and their attitude is that of believers. They say all is good 
until proved bad, whereas the habitual critic says all is bad 

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A WORLD- VISION AND SELF-MASTERY 

until proved good. The seeker for truth makes a better trav- 
eling companion than the seeker for error ; the believer is 
better than the doubter. I should like to live in a world of 
believers ; a world of doubters would be a dreary place. One 
of the charms of children is their spirit of belief. A skep- 
tical child, who doubts you and what you say, is not at- 
tractive; we want a child to be hopeful, large-hearted, op- 
timistic, seeing our best side first. It is a part of world- 
vision not only to see far, but to trust far and believe far. 
The more I travel and the more I come in close touch with 
the busy people of different countries, the greater is my 
faith in humanity ; I get a broader vision and a broader faith. 
It is impossible to see how people who do not believe much 
in God or men can call themselves liberal. They are nar- 
row and ungenerous. They would narrow down my world 
so much that I could not live in it. Give me the true 
breadth and liberality of a large belief. 

OUR DEBT TO OTHERS. 

We people in America have had room to develop and 
grow. New fields, free institutions, and general education 
have greatly favored us. Southern Europe is the reverse 
of this. The tyranny of the past: cramped quarters, low 
wages, little public education, and most of the favors kept 
by the few in power of Church and State — have made a 
poor soil for growth. While we enjoy their art, music, and 
historic landmarks, we owe them more than the mere pay- 
ment of hotel and railway bills, and the purchase of some 
art works ; we owe them an example of our best Christian, 
American manhood and womanhood. Their wine and low 
amusements are the curse of the country, and our example 
should teach them this fact. 

Every one who has either knowledge or property owes 
something to future generations. It is a part of world-vision 
to care whether the children of remote peoples are fairly 
treated or not. Inasmuch as the civilized part of the world 

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SELF-MASTERY OF MEN AND NATIONS 

profits greatly by the cheap labor of the more primitive 
people in the tropics and distant regions, we are, by the 
demands of honesty and justice, under obligation to give 
them the benefit of our better knowledge and civilization. 
We owe it to ourselves, as at present our sons who go 
among them are too often corrupted by the easy access to 
vice. With the present rapid intercourse of commerce and 
travel we shall either lift them up, or they will drag us 
down. Barbarians have conquered nations more civilized 
than themselves in the past, and it might be repeated. This 
world is like a human body: one part can not rob another 
without ultimate harm to itself. The child-races of the 
world must be given a fair chance. 

Some line of helpfulness to the future is a most fruitful 
field for the independent worker who prefers to direct his 
own movements and pay his own bills. I hope many per- 
sons with some leisure time and some spare means may look 
for places of investment in this field. 



220 



CHAPTER XVII 
SELF-MASTERY JOURNEYS 

The Great Teacher says: "I am among you as he that serveth." 
Therefore we believe: It is more honorable to sweep a floor than 
it is to get it dirty. There are some well-dressed people whose lazi- 
ness and false pride cause them to make unnecessary dirt for others to 
clean up. 

My first journey for special world-study began from my 
old home, Baraboo, Wisconsin, in September, 1905. There 
my wife and I parted : she to go to Duluth, to make a home 
for our boy, and I to follow the sun on his westward way. 
I had already studied three years in the universities of 
Europe, and possessed a fair knowledge of German and 
French; so with three languages and some experience in 
travel in other lands, I felt well able to find my way. 

After a brief stay in Madison, and another in Chicago, 
I found myself hurrying on to Denver. What was of most 
interest to me in that region was Judge Lindsay and his 
work for the boys. I called on him and explained my er- 
rand. He was very courteous, gave me much information, 
and invited me to visit the juvenile court. The court-room, 
with Judge Lindsay in the center, a group of boys who had 
in some way come in touch with the court, and the probation 
officers and several teachers from the school all gathered 
around him, made a picture I shall not soon forget. What 
were the judge and his co-workers doing? They were help- 
ing those boys to become men. I have been in various court- 
rooms where trials were going on, and I have been in many 
prisons in different parts of the world. One must at times 
feel that there is a degree of hardness in the manner of 

221 



SELF-MASTERY OF MEN AND NATIONS 

the officials. I have never been a prison official, and hence 
do not claim to know just what manner is best ; but in Judge 
Lindsay's court there was an air of kindliness that helped 
me to believe more in humanity. Among the boys was one 
of eight or ten years, to whom the judge talked a little 
while, and then passed him on. The boy waited near by 
and began to cry, wiping his eyes with his hands. Before 
long all the cases had been disposed of, and the judge turned 
to this boy and said: "Come here, boy. What are you cry- 
ing for? Is it because you did wrong, or is it because you 
were found out?" The boy replied, "It is because I did 
wrong." And from his manner I could not doubt his word. 
The judge had touched the real boy, and there was some- 
thing to build on. Many a father could well take pattern 
of Judge Lindsay in the manner of meeting his own boys 
and of holding their confidence. I have visited juvenile 
courts in other cities, and am glad to say that the spirit of 
brotherly kindness is coming in. A fair and honest spirit 
is greatly needed in all criminal and other courts. 

Salt Lake City was my next stopping-place. I wished 
to see and learn what I could of Mormonism. I spent an 
evening with one of the Twelve Apostles. He was very 
affable and seemed glad of the chance to vindicate his po- 
sition of having two wives and being one of the leaders of 
Mormonism. This man, like many others, is really two 
persons : the man, and the Mormon. I found the man that 
evening; he was friendly and courteous. The Mormon — 
well, he was a Mormon; that describes him, and it seems 
the Mormon usually rules. I have varied experiences in 
seeking information of all sorts of persons. Sometimes I 
find the man, and sometimes I do not — only the official is 
visible ; the man is so small that he can be completely hidden 
behind the mere name of an office ; it matters little what the 
office may be. Fortunately, however, there are many in- 
stances in which I find the man. 

The Mormon commercial building had a symbolic rep- 

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SELF-MASTERY JOURNEYS 

resentation of the two noted places of the hereafter. "Holi- 
ness to the Lord" is cut in a tablet in the front of the upper 
story, while beneath, in the large show-window, were a lot 
of bottles of whisky arranged in artistic order. It was a 
very good symbol of heaven and hell, and judging from 
the number of saloons in Salt Lake City, one must conclude 
that the latter place was getting about all the traffic. 

Next I moved on to San Francisco, to repeat the same 
methods of study. Salt Lake City and San Francisco, at 
that time, illustrated the extremes of high and low license, 
as the former was $100 per month and the latter $7. There 
seemed to be an unreasonable amount of drinking in both 
places. From San Francisco I sailed on the Manchuria for 
Yokohama via Honolulu. Mr. W. J. Bryan was on the same 
ship, and it was my privilege to make his acquaintance. I 
met him several times afterward, as we both took the same 
general course. It is easy to find the man in Mr. Bryan: 
he is larger than the politician and the orator, though these 
are by no means small. 

At Honolulu I first visited the postoffice, then the schools ; 
I wanted to see the children. In the public kindergarten 
there were five nationalities side by side: American, Ha- 
waiian, Chinese, Japanese, and Portuguese. They sang a 
little song, in which the word "good-bye" in each of these 
languages was the leading idea in one of the five verses. 
Thus they all sang good-bye to the Americans, and to each 
of the others in turn. The whole world needs just such a 
lesson as that. Let all the children sing "good-bye" or 
"good morning" to the rest of the world for a few years, 
with the thought, "we wish you well," and strife and war 
will cease. 

On the ship there were about fifty missionary people of 
various countries, denominations, and kinds of work. Con- 
ferences were held every day after leaving Honolulu, and 
here I learned a great deal about the people of the Orient, 
and especially the excellent spirit of those who go to carry 

223 



SELF-MASTERY OF MEN AND NATIONS 

the light of the gospel and civilization to the less favored 
parts of the earth. 

I spent forty-five days in Japan and traveled fifteen 
hundred miles by rail, touching the chief cities, and made 
a trip into the interior, visiting temples, missions, schools, 
and prisons. I procured a little book with English and 
Japanese words and phrases, with the Japanese so well 
spelled out in English that I could usually read the word 
or sentence so as to be understood. Years of language-study 
give one facility in catching the sound of a foreign word. 
I talked by signs a good deal, and found the Orientals rather 
quick to understand that language. The institutions visited 
in Japan included the missions of a number of different de- 
nominations, a theological school of the Buddhists, where 
their priests are trained, and a number of high-schools, where 
I gave addresses. I visited the lower grades also, and often 
watched the children as they passed out or into the school- 
grounds. They were never rude to me, and never tried to 
be smart, as I fear some American boys would have done 
to a Japanese. 

I found Korea a very interesting country. The dignified 
men with their long, white garments and odd hats, travel- 
ing in single file along the country-paths, looked at a dis- 
tance like a cemetery with marble statues. Their cemeteries 
are usually rounded mounds of earth on the hillside, in a 
spot chosen by the soothsayers. I rode fourteen hours in a 
third-class car, and found the accommodations comfortable, 
and felt myself quite at home among the people. I went 
as far north as Seoul, and then returned on Thanksgiving 
Day to the southern port. I enjoyed my simple dinner on 
the train, observing the Korean people and landscape as a 
sort of dressing. Some Korean dates, strung on a stick 
and dried, furnished an agreeable dessert. 

I took my last look at Japan from the steamer-deck in 
the harbor of that beautiful bay at Nagasaki. I carried with 
me a store of pleasant memories of Japan and her people 

224 



SELF-MASTERY JOURNEYS 

as the steamer plowed the waters on her way to China. 
Shanghai has two cities side by side. The old, within the 
walls, is dingy and dirty, crowded and curious. The new 
city is foreign in appearance and is built of substantial brick. 
Here the Orient and the Occident meet, and I am sorry 
some of our Western people do not set a better example of 
moral and Christian conduct before the people in whose 
midst they go for trade or travel. 

Foo Chow — one part new, where the foreigner lives, on 
the hills ; and the other part old, where China can be seen 
and felt on streets only wide enough for eight or ten men 
to walk abreast — has impressed many pictures on my mind. 
A great variety of articles are made in little shops on both 
sides of the street. I bought some needles from a man who 
made them by hand; they are rude, but they will sew. I 
called at Amoy and Swatow, and then on I went to Hong 
Kong, the only Westerner on the ship. The latter city, 
seen from its spacious harbor, is grand by night or by day. 
A man with his wife and daughter rowed me far out to 
the ship in their sampan house-boat. These people live in 
their boats, and some of them keep a pig in a crate across 
the back end of the boat. I leaned over the side of the ship 
to see them eat their simple meal, but the woman looked up 
at me in a reproving way, as though it annoyed her to have 
me looking on, so I moved farther away. These people 
were plain and primitive, but they impressed me as doing 
the best they could under the dead weight of old tradition 
and the ruling classes, who do nothing for them. 

The mosquitoes and the sun both gave me a warm wel- 
come to the Philippines. A mosquito-net canopy and one 
sheet was all I required as a night-covering in that sunny 
land, even in January. The Americans whom I met were 
very friendly, and I found the schools full of interesting chil- 
dren, all studying our text-books in the English language. 
My way led me back to Hong Kong in order to get a ship for 
Singapore. If you wish to get warm, go to Singapore. You 
15 225 



SELF-MASTERY OF MEN AND NATIONS 

will be about one degree from the equator, and the sun is 
cordial in its greeting. I had a delightful ride on the elec- 
tric tram that runs out into the country. It was then almost 
a jungle, but man drives back the jungle. My next stop 
was at Penang. In these waters the men and boys seem 
as much at home as porpoises, and dive after coins for 
the amusement of travelers. Boat-loads of beautiful shells 
and corals were offered for sale. I took some delightful 
rides, with a young American of the mission, in a double 
jinrikisha drawn by an enterprising Chinaman. The cocoa- 
nut and other forests of that region are grand, and the 
vegetation is luxuriant. 

Then we turned northward, and the cool breeze we met 
as we neared Calcutta was very welcome. India is rich in 
interest ; it is not easy to pass so lightly over it all. It was 
new to me to see six men carrying a piano on their heads, 
and to see men wade out into a pond and wash and drink 
in the same water. They stand there and wash clothes on 
a granite slab, and throw them to a sheet on the bank. 
I went on northward and stopped at Pacur, Benares, and 
Allahabad. At Philibhit I met an old schoolmate, and here 
I had a ride on an elephant, and also on a camel. I had 
a most magnificent view of the great Himalaya snowy 
range; a very rare sight, as the air is usually hazy. I 
stopped at Bareilly and at Agra, where I saw that most 
marvelous building of the world, the Taj Mahal, both by 
day and by moonlight. At Muttra the fire-worshipers were 
a fascinating study. At evening they place candles on little 
boards and set them afloat on the river. On the stone steps 
that led to the river, a fat, sacred cow was standing, and 
a sacred monkey was climbing over her back and swinging 
from her tail. In many cases it is better to be a monkey 
in India than a woman. Delhi, with its ruins of Moham- 
medan misrule, is well worth a visit. Now I find myself 
hurrying on towards Bombay. The English railway officials 
are very accommodating. England is doing very much 

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SELF-MASTERY JOURNEYS 

for the people of this land. The nabobs of India, who 
used to live in barbaric splendor at the expense of the com- 
mon people, would like to have the country to themselves 
again. So would the same class of politicians in the Phil- 
ippines like to rule that country. It would be too much 
of a game of fox-and-geese ; in either case there would be 
a few fat foxes and a lot of lean geese. The people of 
neither of these countries are yet able to protect themselves 
against bad rulers. We remember that even in Western 
lands the people have a struggle to hold their own against 
corrupt rule. The missionaries of the various denomina- 
tions are doing a great work for India, and Christian edu- 
cation makes excellent men and women of the people there. 

I was in the company of several missionaries on the 
ship that carried us from Bombay through the Red Sea to 
Port Said. The Suez Canal allows one to see something 
of the desert by water. A wonderful mirage lingered for 
quite a time in view, and was very real in its resemblance 
to a bay with projecting land. 

At Cairo I first saw the Nile. On the bridge I met 
camels bearing new-mown clover, and it almost made me 
homesick. I never ate strawberries that tasted so delicious 
as some wild ones the boys were selling in little leaf -baskets. 
I was thirsty, and bought them; and there, in sight of the 
Pyramids, I ate wild strawberries and thought of my boy- 
hood. The next day I went out to the Pyramids and climbed 
to the summit of the great Gizeh. 

It was Easter-time, and many pilgrims were on their 
way to Jerusalem, but I had to be content with a short stay 
in Palestine. I had planned to see the northern part and 
Damascus, but the rough sea would not let the small boats 
go out to the ships ; so after waiting several days at Jaffa, 
I went back to Cairo, and from there by rail to Alexandria. 
Our ship had a good many people bound for Athens, to 
attend the Grecian games. I reached Constantinople on 
Easter Sunday. There is much to say of the people in that 

227 



SELF-MASTERY OF MEN AND NATIONS 

city, their shops, bazaars, and mosques; of the latter, St. 
Sophia being the most important. To describe my trip up 
the Bosphorus and do it justice would be a difficult task. 
It is grand, romantic, and varied. Robert College, in a 
picturesque situation, is one of the valuable friends of better 
things in Turkey. It is a great window through which 
Christian light is entering that dark land of the False 
Prophet. 

My next move was northward. There was a good deal 
of formality in getting permission to leave Turkey. The 
police examined my passport a number of times and at vari- 
ous points. I stopped at Philippopolis, Belgrade, and Buda 
Pest on my way to Vienna. Then continuing, I visited 
Prague and Dresden, and remained a longer time at Leipzig, 
where I had been a student in the university some years 
before. Erelong I was again in Berlin. Germany has 
grown rich and showy. The former simplicity of clothing 
has given way to more expensive attire. I think Germany 
has lost something valuable in this regard. 

I was delighted with a trip through Denmark, Sweden, 
and Norway, reaching as far north as Christiania. Some 
parts of Sweden reminded me very much of Wisconsin. 
These home-like pictures greet me with a peculiar charm as 
they flash upon me unawares. I was surprised with such 
a picture in the Philippines, where the fields, flowers, and 
weeds of January so much resemble early September in 
Wisconsin. 

I next took my way across North Germany, into Hol- 
land and Belgium, and then to Paris, where I was somewhat 
at home because of having been a student there. I do not 
travel nights: one sees nothing at that time. I plan to 
reach some convenient place before night, and rest for the 
next day. I go out on the streets in the evening and study 
the people, and see how they spend their leisure time — this 
is important. I chat a few minutes with the policeman, the 
cabman, the shop-keeper, the lounger on the corner, or any 

228 



SELF-MASTERY JOURNEYS 

one I meet. I ask the way to some point, drop into a church, 
step into a cafe or restaurant, and glance around as though 
looking for some one, as indeed I am: I am looking for 
everybody and at everything. I never step into a dive ; 
I do not care to see humanity at its worst: I see enough 
as I travel along the decent paths of traffic. Above all, I 
do not want to see woman at her worst. The selfishness 
of the men is to blame for her degradation. We men can 
change all this if we have a mind to. The women will do 
their part and lend a little extra help to us as soon as we 
are willing to start house-cleaning. 

I spent a longer time in England, as there is much to 
learn from these our relatives by blood and language. From 
Liverpool I sailed to New York. After stopping there a 
few days, I made a brief visit at Washington, from which 
city I went directly to Chicago, and then to Baraboo. 

The time consumed in this trip was one year. The dis- 
tance traveled was thirty thousand miles. The cost in 
money was, on the average, within $70 per month, or a little 
over $800 for the whole trip. 

Let me now give several other tests of the possibility 
of being comfortable while seeing much of the world at 
moderate cost. In September, 1910, my wife and I started 
from our home in Wisconsin on a long journey to study 
humanity. On this trip, also, we did not travel nights, ex- 
cept on the water ; there we drew the line and stayed by 
the ship day and night. We stopped at Louisville, Ky., 
and at Nashville, Tenn., and from there we went to Talla- 
dega, Ala., where our son was superintendent of a college- 
farm for colored students. My wife remained in his home 
while I took a tour through Alabama and Georgia, studying 
schools and prisons, and also the color problem. I talked 
with prison and government officials, with editors, profes- 
sional and business men, and any one I could find who 
knew that country. I gave addresses in churches and 
schools wherever an opportunity offered, but avoided giv- 

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SELF-MASTERY OF MEN AND NATIONS 

ing any advice on the color problem; in this I was a stu- 
dent, not a teacher. 

We visited Mobile, and then went our way through the 
pines and moss-covered forests to New Orleans. We were 
especially interested in the French quarter, where we wan- 
dered about with the feeling that we were in France again, 
where we had been together years before. It seems strange 
that this section has kept its French character so long in 
an American city. It shows that people can follow different 
customs from their neighbors if they wish to. Humanity 
is not compelled to follow either a wise or an unwise course ; 
a community can be a desert in the midst of an oasis or 
an oasis in the midst of a desert, the world affords examples 
of both. 

Havana contains many things that are new and strange. 
The Cubans have a future, and I believe they will redeem 
themselves when certain changes take place in the way of 
better opportunities. From Havana we sailed to Vera Cruz, 
the port I so well remembered from my geography days. 

Our next call was at Orizaba, where, because of the 
temporary absence of a teacher in the Methodist mission- 
school, we were privileged to keep house in rooms in the 
mission building. All the other occupants of the building 
were Mexicans, and they were good neighbors. We spoke 
enough Spanish to get along with the people and to do 
all our marketing. We bought bread, meat, fruit, vege- 
tables, and everything we used, just as others did, in the 
public markets. I have done this everywhere in my ex- 
tensive travels, and there is no way to make the acquaintance 
with the people of any country like buying in their markets 
in small quantities, as they do, and using their own lan- 
guage. I did not often pay more than the people did, for 
I took pains to learn the prices by asking at several places. 
I believe in all my travels in foreign countries, now cover- 
ing nearly six years, and almost the whole time buying my 
food directly in the shops and markets, I have very rarely 

230 



SELF-MASTERY JOURNEYS 

paid more than the usual price paid by the people them- 
selves. 

We made a somewhat longer stay in Puebla and Mexico 
City, which included a delightful sojourn in Cuernavaca. 
Returning to Puebla, my wife secured board in the Metho- 
dist mission-school, where she remained two months, and 
then sailed for New York. 

February 22, 191 1, I started southward from Puebla. 
It was a journey full of interest, which I should like to 
describe in detail if space permitted. As my object is to 
give the results of my studies of humanity and the lessons 
learned from many lands, I shall follow only the outlines 
of the voyage. 

Tropical forests and scenery have a wonderful charm 
for me. The jungle is a marvel of growth ; the vines reach 
out vigorously and twine over the trees, while the curious 
flowers, the magnificent palms, and a thousand pictures 
greet the traveler in passing through the hills and forests. 

I sailed from Salina Cruz, the southern port of Mexico, 
to Acajutla, the port of San Salvador. Here, at the capital 
of that little republic, I was fortunate in striking the time 
of the inauguration of the new president, when a gala day 
brought many people in from the country and from other 
towns. I was informed, on good authority, that a number 
of the leaders of the defeated party were entertained in the 
prison for a few days at this time, "to insure domestic tran- 
quillity and secure the blessings of liberty to the people." 
Preventive is sometimes better than cure in the body poli- 
tic, as well as in other bodies. 

From Acajutla I took a ship of the Pacific Mail bound 
for Panama. This ship called at all the principal ports, 
bringing flour and manufactured articles, and carrying 
away coffee and other tropical products. I thus had a good 
opportunity to see and learn much of the people. Sixteen 
days in the Canal Zone afforded me a very fair idea of the 
general situation and the problems to be solved. No one 

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SELF-MASTERY OF MEN AND NATIONS 

can study that canal with an open mind without feeling a 
deep respect and reverence for God and the humanity He 
has created. It proved to me that if man can do so much 
for the material progress, he can do as much for the moral, 
the physical, and the spiritual welfare of the whole race 
of mankind ; nothing less than this will suffice. The authori- 
ties do not allow yellow fever to get a foothold on the zone. 
The authorities the world over can banish moral diseases 
and make a canal zone of the whole earth, so soon as they 
make that an aim, as is now done in reference to the fever 
at the Panama Canal. It struck me as a marvelous thing 
that science could stamp out yellow fever and make sani- 
tary conditions there so good. I call it the greatest case 
of divine healing I have ever known. It was divine healing 
because it was all done by the use of the intelligence, the 
materials, and the appliances that Divinity has placed within 
man's reach. Divine healing must be permanent, and in 
the power of those concerned, that they may guard against 
future danger. The engineering project of cutting a path 
for the ships through a mountain, of tearing down the 
everlasting hills, and carrying them away to build an enor- 
mous dam and such gigantic locks, touched the very depths 
of my nature. As I looked upon it all I was stirred with 
the deepest emotion, and the words of the psalmist came to 
my mind: 

"When I consider Thy heavens, the work of Thy fingers, 
The moon and the stars, which Thou hast ordained; 
What is man, that Thou art mindful of him? 
And the son of man, that Thou visitest him? 
For Thou hast made him but little lower than the angels, 
And crownest him with glory and honor. 

Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of Thy hands; 
Thou hast put all things under his feet: 
All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field; 
The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, 
Whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas." 

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SELF-MASTERY JOURNEYS 

I took a deck passage from Colon to Kingston, Jamaica, 
and rode among the people of the West Indies, who are 
helping to build the canal. I thought if I could ride through 
the canal they built, I could ride with them on the same 
deck. Most of them were colored, but there were also 
other races represented. There was but little profanity 
or rudeness of any kind ; they were courteous to each other 
and to me. They sang hymns, but did not engage in gam- 
bling. The latter is far too common on ship-board, from 
the first cabin downwards. I spent some time on the Island 
of Jamaica, and then sailed to Santiago, Cuba. I traveled 
westward, stopping at Christo, Bayamo, Camaguay, and 
Matanzas, thus getting a very good idea of this beautiful 
island of palms. At Havana I took the steamer for Florida, 
and thence went northward to Washington, to rejoin my 
wife. I traveled by short stages, stopping to make further 
acquaintance with the people and conditions in the Atlantic 
States. 

This journey from Puebla, Mexico, south to the Isth- 
mus, and north through the West Indies to Washington, 
covered a distance, including sidetrips, of five thousand 
miles. It occupied three months' time, and cost $180, or 
$60 per month. I was entirely comfortable all the way, 
and I believe I got more information and more satisfaction 
out of the trip than the average traveler who pays far more 
for his privileges. 

The next instance of economic traveling included two 
persons. On July 7, 191 1, my wife and I started from 
Beach Haven, N. J., where we had spent a few pleasant 
weeks with friends, to make a European trip. We sailed 
from New York on the Anchor Line for Londonderry, Ire- 
land. I wanted to get better acquainted with the Irish peo- 
ple, and there were many of them all around us on the 
ship. We sat among them, ate with them, talked with 
them, like one big family on that ocean voyage. We spent 
six weeks in Ireland; two weeks in Londonderry and its 

233 



SELF-MASTERY OF MEN AND NATIONS 

environs ; one in Belfast ; one in Dublin, and two weeks in 
Cork. We had rooms with private families all the way, 
spending only one night at a hotel. This is our rule every- 
where, for in this way we get better acquainted with the 
people, and it is far less expensive. 

From Cork we sailed to Fishguard, Wales, and thence 
to Cardiff. We wished to learn something of the mines 
and the mining region. Now when the coal warms me, or 
generates the steam that drives the engine of ship or rail- 
way on which I ride so comfortably, I think of the men who 
go far down into the dingy mines to get that coal for me. 
Would that the careless, well-fed, and well-groomed world 
might take more time to think of those who make their 
luxuries possible! I talked with some of the men whose 
faces were as black as the coal with its dust; they were just 
like other men. I stood and watched the crowds going into 
the mines and those coming out; they were just like other 
men and boys, and I felt a kindly sympathy for them all. 
What did arouse my wrath against the brewers were the 
enormous vans with their monster loads of beer sent to 
catch the money of these men as they come out from the 
mines. I saw a lot of broken windows from a late strike. 
One cause of that strike was that the men did not have 
money enough for their needs. One reason for lack of 
money was that they had spent it for drink, and the brewers 
were teaching them to drink more, and telling them it was 
necessary for their strength. 

From Cardiff we next stopped at Plymouth, and visited 
the place from which the Mayflower sailed to New England. 
From England we sailed to capture Brittany, landing at 
Brest. The old and the new brush against each other on 
the streets of this curious city, when the quaint, full peasant 
costumes meet the skirts so narrow that the wearers could 
step only ten or twelve inches. We stopped at Quimper, 
and saw the fine old cathedral, and at Nantes, where we 
visited the churches of note, and the castle in which was 

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SELF-MASTERY JOURNEYS 

signed the famous Edict of Nantes. La Rochelle was the 
last stronghold of the Huguenots. Its fine sea beach and 
the beautiful park adjoining make it a favorite resort in the 
summer. We spent a longer time at Bordeaux, and made 
several trips into the country to visit the vineyards for which 
that region is noted. This was the fourth time my feet had 
trodden French territory. That France can be what she is 
after losing so many of her best citizens in her past history, 
convinces me of the vigor and force of her people. 

From Bayonne we crossed the border and were at last 
on Spanish soil. San Sebastian is a favorite summer resort 
of the royal family of Spain, and is surely a charming 
place, with fine views of sea and land. Hotels are not 
found near the railway stations in Spain; in fact, in some 
cities, they are far away. It was our custom for my wife 
to remain at the station while I went to find a private room. 
Thus I had no baggage with me, and was free to go on if 
the first place did not suit. My experience is that one can 
usually find what he wants if he knows where to look for it. 
In these searches for rooms I learned to know the people, 
and I was also practicing the language. 

At Burgos we found a wonderful old cathedral and cu- 
rious streets and scenes. In the evening crowds of people 
thronged the broad arcade extending around a square in 
the center of the city. They were strolling, chatting vigor- 
ously, and looking at each other; the men admiring the 
women and the women admiring the men. Men and women 
do not mingle as freely in Spanish countries as with us, so 
they do a good deal of looking when occasion offers. That 
seemed to be the principal aim at the services in the churches 
on Easter Sunday in Santiago, Cuba. In one fine church I 
saw just one old man among the men giving close atten- 
tion to his prayer-book, the rest were looking at the women. 

Valladolid was our next place of sojourn. This city 
has many historical associations, and the square is still 
shown where heretics used to be burned. The fine old 

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SELF-MASTERY OF MEN AND NATIONS 

churches are not well attended now. An interesting ride 
of 155 miles took us to the capital through a region whose 
soil is not very fertile. Large groves of pine trees trimmed 
with thick, bushy tops were passed — turpentine is a product 
of these pines. We found the people friendly with each 
other and also with us. They seemed to get acquainted very 
easily and to find fluent topics of conversation. They car- 
ried lunches with them, as we did, and they offered food and 
wine to each other. We declined the wine with all the 
Spanish politeness at our command, but the foreigner is at 
a disadvantage because of the numerous complimentary 
words and phrases that are hard to manage. Zigzagging 
back and forth, I traveled 1,400 miles in Spain on third 
class cars and had no occasion to find any fault with the 
treatment I received from the people. The common people 
of this country have never had a fair chance — public schools 
and general opportunities of improvement have been lack- 
ing. 

Madrid is building rapidly, but rooms are small and 
crowded, and rent is high. They say old buildings are torn 
down faster than new ones are put up. There are few if 
any small houses such as are so common in Ireland and 
England. We always see the noted art galleries and mu- 
seums in the different cities we visit, and of course those 
of Madrid are very fine. We also saw the king and queen 
as they drove out of the palace. Those in position to know 
speak well of them; they say the king works faithfully 
for his country, and seems to be gaining the confidence of 
his subjects, while the priests are surely losing their hold 
upon the people. 

Granada and the Alhambra are two words that have a 
charm in their sound because of the wonderful writings of 
Washington Irving. The tram carries one through a mag- 
nificent forest to the top of the hill near the castle. This 
forest covers a number of acres, showing what Spain might 
have had in timber had her rulers in Church and State given 

236 



SELF-MASTERY JOURNEYS 

more care to tree-culture and less time to exterminating the 
Moors and stamping out heresy by means of the Inquisi- 
tion. We spent two months at Seville, and occupied a pri- 
vate room where the tower of the cathedral swept its shadow 
across our southern window every day. This tower, called 
the Giralda, is a relic of Moorish times, and from its lofty 
summit one has a wide view over the plains. Most of the 
streets of Seville are very narrow ; two donkeys loaded with 
panniers of bread can not pass at all points. New streets 
are now being cut through, and many houses fall before 
this modernizing process. The quaint features are giving 
way for newer ideas in all the cities I have visited. 

Mrs. Smith remained at Seville while I took a journey 
into Portugal. These two countries have much in common, 
but I could not help noticing the absence of priests and 
nuns. The priests are very numerous in Spain, and easily 
recognized by their long, black gowns. In Portugal the 
republic has forbidden them to wear these gowns on the 
street, and now they can not be distinguished from other 
people. In Lisbon I had the privilege of addressing a large 
and attentive audience at the Y. M. C. A. rooms, the very 
able general secretary being my interpreter. The door is 
open for the gospel in Portugal, and the large attendance 
at the several services I visited shows good results for the 
mission work done there. Spain and Portugal must have 
more schools and the Bible to bring them up to a higher 
degree of advancement. 

Gibraltar is a great fortress, especially interesting to us, 
as England and Spain were once rivals and about equal in 
power, while England now holds the key to the Mediter- 
ranean on the most strategic spot of the Spanish peninsula. 

While I had seen something of Mohammedanism in the 
Orient and in Turkey, I wanted to become better acquainted 
with its workings, and also to study a French colony. We 
therefore sailed for Algiers, where we found a delightful 
winter climate. The Cross and the Crescent here meet, and 

237 



SELF-MASTERY OF MEN AND NATIONS 

the French Government undertakes to side with neither and 
to keep friends with both. I believe the way to test Islam- 
ism is to judge it by its treatment of women. The Moham- 
medan buys and sells his wives, shuts them up in a den or 
palace, whichever he may happen to have, and then by call- 
ing it his religion defends his conduct before the world. 
It is the disgrace of civilization that the mantle of religion 
has been allowed to cover so much human wrong and sin 
for centuries. Men commit the darkest crimes under that 
pretense, and then say it is their religion and it must not 
be interfered with. When one condemns their crimes, they 
are ready to "fight for their religion," as they choose to call 
it. If the world has anything more unjust, deceitful, and 
vile under the pretense of divine sanction, yet having a 
certain degree of culture, than Mohammedanism, it would 
be interesting to know what it is. The leaders of this false 
religion know better, and the civilized world should tell them 
so. Through the kindness of some missionaries, who are 
doing an excellent work among the women and girls, my 
wife had an opportunity to see something of the sad home 
life of Moslem women. It is too bad that France is teach- 
ing the Moslem to cultivate and drink wine, and thus rob- 
bing him of one of his few virtues. At the harbor of Al- 
giers there are literally acres of ground covered with im- 
mense casks of wine, which is grown on rich soil that 
should be producing something better than strong drink. 
I must say this for the Arabs of Algiers, they make a good, 
honest loaf of bread which they dare sell by weight. It is 
not puffed up with wind to make it look large, as is too often 
the case here in America. The Arab has good material in 
him, his religion makes him bad ; teach him the religion of 
Christ and he will become a good citizen. 

After a pleasant stay of six weeks in Algiers, and a trip 
into the Kabyle Mountains, we sailed for Naples. We were 
right among the Italians and the Greeks who were return- 
ing from the Americas, where they had gone to work and 

238 



SELF-MASTERY JOURNEYS 

earn money for their families. I talked with many of them, 
and all were very civil to me. What these people need is 
a fair chance to be educated and refined, and they will be- 
come good citizens. We owe something to the men who 
build our canals and railroads. We have left them too much 
to the saloonkeeper and to the low-grade politician. 

After seeing Naples and its environs, including Vesuvius 
and Pompeii, we went on to Rome for Easter, then to 
Florence, Bologna, and Venice. I had been in Italy before, 
but my wife had not; and we moved on leisurely, as our 
time was entirely our own. From Venice we went north- 
ward to Trent, where we visited the church in which the 
famous Council of Trent was held. Leaving Italy, we 
passed through the romantic Tyrol to Innsbruck, and later 
to Munich. We had both been in Germany before, and felt 
quite at home with the people and the language. 

By the time we reached Munich, I had traveled 9,500 
miles and my wife 8,670 miles, in ten and one-half months. 
We had seen many of the principal cities and sights, and 
much of the people and their customs and modes of life. 
We had been entirely comfortable, and felt that our aim 
in travel had been more than met. All this was done by 
two persons at a total cost of $500. It was a further triumph 
of certain principles we had started out to test and prove. 
My next trip w r as into Russia. As Mrs. Smith did not 
care to take this long journey, she boarded for a time with 
the German Methodist Deaconesses while I was gone. The 
principal points I touched were Vienna, Warsaw, Vilna, and 
St. Petersburg. I rode third class, and found it very com- 
fortable. The roadbed and the track are good, and the 
service also. The cars are plain, the seats are without 
cushions and wide enough to make a very good bed at 
night. It is the best accommodation for cheap railway travel 
I have seen in any part of the world ; India comes next to 
it in my judgment. It would be an excellent plan to have 
plain cars for a cheaper price in America. We Americans 

239 



SELF-MASTERY OF MEN AND NATIONS 

who have more sense than dollars use third class cars in 
other countries ; why should we not do the same in our 
own? Those in position to know the facts say they like 
the Russian people, but the government is oppressive and 
unfair to them. I fully concur in this verdict. Tradition 
in Church and State retards the progress of this vast 
country. 

From St. Petersburg I w T ent back to Vilna, then to Edyt- 
kuhnen, en route for Koenigsburg. Edytkuhnen is a little 
town on the border of Germany and Russia, and I wanted 
to observe the people on the border line of two such nations. 
I strolled out to the boundary, spoke with the guard, and 
stood on the line with both feet, then with one foot on either 
side. I had amused myself thus on the boundary between 
Germany and Austria. I thought how easy it would be 
for one of several persons in authority to set these neigh- 
bors on opposite sides of this artificial boundary to robbing 
and killing each other, and for what trivial reasons! 

I felt much freer on German soil, I knew the language 
and required no pass ; I paid nearly twice as much for some 
articles of food, however. From Koenigsburg I bought my 
ticket to Posen in order to see more of the Polish people. 
Poland has an interesting history and the world can profit 
by studying its details. 

Berlin is a great and magnificent city. Like all the rest 
of Germany, it has changed very much since the time of my 
student days there. The people are forgetting their former 
simplicity of life. Once the students dressed very plainly, 
not so now ; but the same is true of my own alma mater. 

One month's time from the day I left Munich, I was 
walking along Schiller Street at nine o'clock at night look- 
ing for the house where my wife was living, or, in other 
words, I was looking for my home. In our travels we al- 
ways carried our home with us, for the material part of a 
home for two may be easily provided in most parts of the 
world if one knows how\ The vital part is the harmonious 

240 



SELF-MASTERY JOURNEYS 

spirits of one man and one woman, each bent on doing his 
part and demanding no more than his share. This is easy 
if the two know how, and have a mind to follow their knowl- 
edge. I would like to help all my young friends to the 
capacity and the power so needful in this field. 

Now, what is the lesson from my Russian trip? Well, 
I beat myself this time ; 2,900 miles, one month's time, 
traveling in entire comfort and getting a great deal out of 
my journey, and it cost me only $50. It is simple enough 
when one knows how and is master of himself. 

Russia does this for her people that is truly commend- 
able; she makes it possible for them to travel plainly at a 
very reasonable rate. Speed the day when America does 
the same! The public must not demand such luxurious 
cars, such rapid trains — dangerous to men and hard on the 
track — nor claim such exorbitant damages for accidents that 
can not be avoided nor foreseen. When both passengers and 
employees co-operate in protecting railway property, and in 
avoiding needless expense and waste, a long step will have 
been taken toward cheaper rates. This is one of the present 
economic problems. 

The seventh of July, 1912, closed one year of travel for 
us. It is of interest to "note the opportunities enjoyed and 
the expense incurred. I had traveled 12,425 miles, and my 
wife 8,670 miles. The cost of all this was $586. We call 
it $50 per month, which is within the facts. 

From Munich we moved on to Wurtsburg, next to 
Frankf ort-on-the-Main, and then to Cologne, as usual travel- 
ing by easy stages to see the country and the people. 

Our ride down the Rhine, between the vine-covered 
hills, capped here and there with castles or romantic ruins, 
was delightful. Years before I had taken this trip as a 
student of language, now I was repeating it as a student 
of men. 

We took the railway from Cologne to Arnhem, Hol- 
land, and afterwards spent a few days at The Hague and 
16 241 



SELF-MASTERY OF MEN AND NATIONS 

Rotterdam. Then we went to Brussels, where we greatly 
enjoyed rambling among the historic buildings and mu- 
seums. Via Ostend to London brought us once more on 
Britain's soil. It is easy to find good private rooms in Brit- 
ish territory, and I feel very much at home there. 

After spending some weeks in London, we sailed on 
the White Star Line from Southampton, touching at Cher- 
bourg and Queenstown. We landed at New York and then 
took the steamer for Boston through the sound. Some 
things peculiar to that city were of especial interest to me. 
There is an Italian quarter where one fresh from Italy might 
easily think himself in the land of Garibaldi. We spent ten 
days in Boston, then pursued our journey via Montreal and 
Toronto to Chicago, and my old home in Wisconsin. 

This last test of traveling cheaply and comfortably cov- 
ered fourteen months' time ; 19,000 miles of travel for my- 
self and 15,400 for my wife, and cost us $800. For con- 
venience we call it $60 per month, which is more than we 
used for all purposes. 

The special things in view in my travels were schools, 
missions, religions and prisons. My aim was to study the 
institutions and customs that are helpful and also the causes 
and agencies that are harmful to humanity. To illustrate, 
here are people who are prosperous and good citizens. What 
has made them so, what is the lesson they have to teach 
the world? Again, here are people who are ignorant and 
wretched. Why are they so, and who is to blame? Are 
such conditions necessary, and can they not be shown a 
better way? I went to the prisons, saw the inmates, 
studied their faces and the expressions they carried, and 
then inquired what brought those men to that place. I 
asked how many convictions for this crime and for that, and 
why did these people commit those crimes. One does not 
learn everything, but he who travels far and wide with 
his mind open will learn a great deal about human nature — 
both its wrongs and its remedies. 

242 



CHAPTER XVIII 
PERSONAL SKETCH 

PREPARATION FOR THIS WORK. 

This brief biography will contain only what can rea- 
sonably, be demanded as the conditions under which every 
child should be brought into the world and trained for use- 
fulness. The idea is not that every child should be thought 
of as a traveler, or a student of language, or any of my spe- 
cialties, but that each should be trained into intelligent self- 
mastery, thrift, and honesty, and then let his own judgment 
and circumstances decide in what particular way he will 
employ his time and talent. 

I was born with good health on a farm in Wisconsin, 
and in a Christian home. Farther back than I can remem- 
ber, I was taught to obey my parents, wait on myself, and to 
work and help others. My earliest recollection is that these 
were natural things, and must be done as a matter of course. 
I well remember my mother saying to me, "Wait on your- 
self, and your friends will think the more of you." Wait on 
yourself was in the air of our home. I have many times 
been sorry for persons who have been taught laziness and 
dependence from infancy — a very good training for ciphers 
and anarchists. Instead of being taught to spend every cent 
for some trifle, I was taught to save my pennies for some 
good purpose. I never had a lot of money, and I can not 
remember any distinct fact before the occasion which 
brought me my first dollar. The carpenter had accidentally 
rolled a heavy timber on my toe, and when father paid him 
for his work the man gave me a gold dollar. I have never 
spent that dollar, but should have done so to buy a pocket- 

243 



SELF-MASTERY OF MEN AND NATIONS 

book, when nine years old, had not the family persuaded me 
to keep it. 

I wish to emphasize the fact that any special privileges 
I have had came from good training, and not from any na- 
tive genius, or lucky chances — I am what I was taught to 
be. With the same training some of my schoolmates had, 
I fear I should not have done as well as they did. 

There were four of us children, and our school days be- 
gan in a log schoolhouse. I well remember getting a 
whipping with another boy for picking the dried mud from 
the logs and throwing it at other pupils. We were smart 
boys, like many others, and like them were afraid people 
would not find it out unless we did some foolish thing. The 
teacher used the switch argument and won the case — it is 
about the only argument worth anything with a smart boy 
of that age. I knew too much to take any case of school 
discipline home with me ; my father thought a boy could 
keep out of trouble if he behaved himself, and I was sent to 
school with the idea that the teacher was to be obeyed. My 
parents never asked us if we wanted to go to school, or to 
church ; both were taken as a matter of course. It was not 
school or fishing, it was school or hard work, and plenty of 
argument against growing up a dunce. When my brother 
and I had completed the studies taught in the country school, 
we were sent to Baraboo to a select or private school — a 
good school, taught by Christian teachers. We hired a 
room and did part of our own cooking. This was a lesson 
in good sense and economy, and served me well later. My 
father died when I was sixteen years old, leaving my brother 
and myself to take charge of the farm. We took turns in 
going to school until it was decided that I should study 
all the year, and help was hired to take my place on the 
farm. 

I graduated from the Baraboo High School, entered the 
State University in the autumn of 1872, and graduated 
from that institution in 1876. I wanted to become a teacher 

244 



PERSONAL SKETCH 

of modern languages, and accordingly went to Germany the 
following September. I remained abroad three years, di- 
viding my time between Marburg and Leipzig, in Germany, 
and between Geneva and Paris while making French a 
specialty. I used the vacations in travel, one of which 
included an extended tour in Italy. 

It was in Leipzig that I first met my wife, Sarah 
Thacher Cook, the daughter of a Congregational minister. 
At that time, in company with her aunt and cousin, she 
was studying music and German, and enjoying the oppor- 
tunities of travel on the continent. Our acquaintance was 
continued the next winter in Geneva, where she had gone 
to study French, and I to pursue my studies in the uni- 
versity, and it was on the shores of Lake Geneva, with 
Mount Blanc and the Jura Mountains in view, that we be- 
came engaged. Returning home in 1879, I spent part of 
the next year studying Norse at the Wisconsin University, 
and was married in the summer of 1881. After teaching 
five years, I decided to enter the ministry of the Methodist 
Church, and consequently took the three-years' theological 
course at Evanston, 111. Since then I have spent twenty 
years in the active ministry and three years in the travels 
already mentioned. 

OUR FAMILY UFE. 

A brief account of our family life will aid in explaining 
more fully my idea of the practical application of the self- 
mastery system. 

Two children came to our home : Edward, born August 
12, 1882; and Margaret, born May 17, 1887. With a son 
and a daughter, our promise of home-life was very complete, 
but of short duration. Margaret remained with us only 
a few months, and then passed on to the next world to 
continue the life so brief here. My earnest prayer on that 
October night, when we knew the final parting must soon 
come, was that something of the sweetness and gentleness 

245 



SELF-MASTERY OF MEN AND NATIONS 

of the life then passing from earth might enter into mine 
and there live and flourish. I determined to do everything 
I could to make the way safe for all the daughters of earth, 
that they might have a chance to become what I had hoped 
my own daughter would be — a noble Christian woman. 
With this thought in mind, I began to investigate the so- 
cial-purity movement, visited the medical schools in Chi- 
cago, and sought conferences with specialists to inform 
myself more thoroughly on this topic. I continued my 
labors in this field for some years, when my wife took up 
that subject as her special line of work, and I began the 
general studies of the home and its needs. 

My son, Edward Penn Smith, graduated from the Madi- 
son High School in 1900, and from Lawrence College in 
1905. 

When a very small boy, he was taught to work and 
earn money, and also to save it for some good purpose. His 
mother and I both knew that habit is built up by teaching 
from some person, and so took good care never to teach 
him that a cent meant candy or gum. He never wasted 
money on either liquor or tobacco, but, on the other hand, 
he invested his savings where they could be earning some- 
thing for a college course. He became a Christian in child- 
hood, and joined the church when about eleven years old. 
As a boy he had worked on a farm during most of his 
summer vacations, and early began to say he wanted to be- 
come a farmer. After graduating from college, he took 
a three-years' course in agriculture at the Wisconsin Uni- 
versity to better fit him for his chosen calling. Declining 
a more lucrative position in the North, he went South to 
labor among the colored people, and became superintendent 
of the large farm connected with Talladega College, in 
Alabama. Energetic, not afraid of any kind of work, and 
eager to practice and teach the best methods of farming, 
he had made an excellent beginning there, and his work 

246 



PERSONAL SKETCH 

and faithfulness were highly commended by the professors 
and managers of the institution. 

In July, 1912, he was married to Lucy Emily Ayers, a 
cultured young woman, who was a teacher in the same col- 
lege. In October of that year, on our way to Cuba, we 
visited them in their happy home. Everything was full of 
promise for the future, and a large element in my travels 
and studies was to establish in the mind of my son the 
firm conviction that Christian service to the world is the 
only worthy aim in life. Indeed, I was even then preparing 
to write a book with this purpose largely in view. We 
went on our way after a few weeks' pleasant sojourn in 
their home, spent some time in Cuba, and then continued 
our journey to Mexico. 

The latter part of December we were staying in Orizaba, 
Mexico, when one morning that messenger so much wel- 
comed and dreaded by turns, brought a brief note from the 
telegraph announcing the almost incredible tidings that our 
son, our only remaining child, was dead. Only those who 
have gone through the same experience know what that 
meant to us. In one sense it came at a merciful time. We 
were away in a strange land, greatly absorbed in mission 
work, and there were no associations about us to remind 
us of our loss. There was nothing to be done but to go 
on with our work and bear what could not be avoided. 
I thought of the many thousands of young men whom I 
had seen in the prisons of the world, and I knew their 
parents were more to be pitied than we were. All these 
things were of assistance to us, but the terrible fact re- 
mained. It takes time to adjust one's self to a great loss. 
I always like to observe children, and now began to notice 
that they would often look at me with serious faces, and 
then sometimes run away. I was surprised at this and 
tried to find out why they seemed afraid. I took the mirror 
and studied my own face. I could see no joy there; it 

247 



SELF-MASTERY OF MEN AND NATIONS 

was not a face to attract a child. Then I said to myself, 
"This will not do; if I have lost my own children, I must 
not wear so sad a face as to repel other children/' So I 
began to make myself more cheerful and to live in the 
joy of the young life about me. 

REASON FOR THIS SKETCH. 

Now I come to the chief reason for writing this sketch. 
It touches the principles of self-mastery and the Christian 
life in a very vital way. Here is the question, "Did God 
have anything special to do with the loss of our children; 
did He take them out of the world by any direct act?" My 
answer is that He did not. I do not know the cause of 
the death of my daughter. My son was drowned by acci- 
dentally slipping where no danger could have been expected. 
God was not instrumental in his falling to his death — it 
was a case of the ten-thousandth time which was fatal, 
while all before had been passed safely. My belief is that 
at the present time God takes practically no one out of this 
world by direct act. If He did, the list would be different. 
The forms of our expression, as well as the quite general 
belief of men, make God the doer of all that ends life here. 
I believe this is a very serious error, and for this reason: 
If God does it, He knows best, and we must submit; if 
man does it, we ought, in a large number of cases, to learn 
better, and then live by that higher knowledge. God will 
deal justly with each of us who pass out of this life; but 
if we go before our time, we may be found standing at 
the door of eternity very poorly fitted to enter that realm. 

As a Christian minister I have come in touch with many 
a person who was carrying a great grievance against God 
for taking some loved one, and who had become gloomy 
and would not try to cheer up. For one to grieve thus 
is wrong, it is unreasonable, it is putting the blame in the 
wrong place ; and instead of becoming wiser for some fu- 
ture event, the mourner only wears deeper the rut of error 

248 



PERSONAL SKETCH 

in which he is moving. The world is beginning to ask 
seriously, What is the cause of this and that early death? 
We have here a very important question, and one worthy 
of careful study. In some misjudged cases the parents, in 
their youth or later, may have broken some of God's laws 
of health, and the early death of the child was the result 
of their lack of knowledge. 

I hope I am understood. I do not at all blame God 
for the desolation of my home in the loss of both of my 
children, for He is my great comfort. I know He has 
my treasures, and He will keep them safely until I follow 
on to meet and greet them. I care very much what my 
children think of my course in this life, and my task now 
is to make it easy for them to say, when we stand face to 
face, "Father, we rejoice in your record as it has been 
brought to us by the coming of those whom you have 
helped; we are glad that you did not charge God wrong- 
fully, nor sit down and mourn because of losing us, but 
gave the earthly affection, the care, the labors we no longer 
needed, to the great world of children who did need them." 

We do not consider ourselves childless, for we have 
adopted the childhood of the whole world as ours. I take 
into my arms some child from as many nations as pos- 
sible; it may be a Chinese, an Indian, a Japanese, a Mexi- 
can, or any one within reach. One day, away in the moun- 
tains of North Africa, I took the hand of a little Kabyle 
boy of two years — a Mohammedan child. The boy smiled, 
and the father seemed pleased, though neither of us knew 
a syllable of the other's spoken language. I think the smile 
must be a part of God's language, for all can understand it. 

I have in conclusion a most earnest word of appeal to 
the many persons who have lost one or more children, to 
those who have had none, and especially to those who, like 
us, have lost all. You who have time, talent, or money, 
devote as much as you can to some line of human better- 
ment in the great world of the young. I give you my 

249 



SELF-MASTERY OF MEN AND NATIONS 

testimony that it makes a plain couch like a bed of down, 
and changes a simple fare into a banquet, to feel that the 
money thus saved is turned to the good of those young 
enough to be easily helped. I call this not charity, nor a 
gift, but a wise investment; and such an investment places 
me among the rich men of the earth. 

As a parting word, and in the name of our beloved 
children, I plead with you to forget the unattractive ex- 
terior of many of the parents, and remember the children 
who need our love. Come with me into this field of the 
world, and we will gather our arms full of these flowers 
to lay at the feet of the Master who loves them, and who 
will teach us the larger lesson of love for all humanity. 



250 



Deacidified using the Bookkeeper process. 
Neutralizing agent: Magnesium Oxide 
Treatment Date: Dec. 2004 

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